Son of a Hunter
by RWBRyan
Summary: A forbidden child of the Huntress Artemis has been born, via modern technology. Follow him as he fights the most powerful monsters of Greek Mythology, in order to prove himself to Olympus and the World.
1. Chapter 1

**This story came to me from reading so many daughters of Artemis fan-fics. I decided to begin my own spin, with a spin on top of a spin. **

**Without further a-do, here is my new story…Son of a Hunter. Remember to Review! **

This disclaimer wasn't orginally here, but reviews are drawing my hand. Before you decide to flame me or give a bad review for "Artemis is a virgin" or "Artemis hates men" How about you read the first chapter before you do so...it might explain everything...just a thought. If you aren't the kind of people that pull that kind of crap, then read on.

A Goddess cradled a young infant in her arms, holding him close to her body for warmth. She had tears flowing freely down her cheeks as she slowly rocked the little infant. She began to sing a soft song and the baby cooed, reaching up a little hand to her face.

Artemis, the Goddess of the hunt, and an adamant virgin, held the baby. She finished her song and looked around her surroundings. She was in a dense woodland area, her prime territory. The woods seemed to comfort her, at least to her mind. But her heart ached with a pain of a thousand years.

"I'll never be able to tell my huntresses about you, my son." She said.

She heaved her baby so that his face was level with hers. The baby laughed and began to play with her nose. Artemis could not help but smile through her tears.

"I have always vowed to remain a virgin, and I still am. I utterly detest men. But that urge…that urge to have my own child, someone who I may claim as mine, and mine alone…it was just to much. Why did you have to be a boy though? Could you not have been a girl, a girl that could join the hunt? So I may watch over you at all times, without that cursed law that forbids me from otherwise?"

The boy laughed again and drooled slightly. Artemis lowered him and wiped off the drool with the hem of her dress. She then lifted him above and examined him once again. She did not break her oath to remain a virgin. She had made use of one of those mortal places where human sperm was stored. She had not lain with any man. But she had hidden herself for the time she was visibly pregnant, so that her hunters would not notice. She had spent the last few months far from civilization, preparing to give birth alone. It had not been a hard task, but being the Goddess of Childbirth as well as the hunt, it would not have been so.

But when she found her newborn to be a boy, then she was initially disgusted. How could she, who has detested men for thousands of years, give birth to one of them? She was literally about to dispose of the wretched thing. But when she finally took it in her arms and looked into his eyes, her hatred for him melted. She realized that, boy or girl, he was of _her_ own flesh and blood. She simply could not raise the dagger to slit his throat, and crumpled to the ground, crying, with him snuggled into her arms.

She had found a way several days ago, however, to help him. She had come into contact with a matured daughter of Aphrodite. She and her husband, a mortal man who was very fond of the outdoors, were willing to take him in. She had made them promise, however, that he would be brought to camp half-blood, no later than his fifteenth birthday, and she would claim him as hers the moment that she was aware that he was there. She laughed at the way he gurgled and cooed, and gently kissed his belly. He let out a laugh.

She wondered for a moment of what his name should be? She had wanted to give him a proud name, but simply decided to give him one of these mortal names that she had heard all around. She decided to call him Leon. A play on Leo, or "Lion".

"Oh Leon…I don't know how you will fare, but I know that you will be alright. You are the Son of a Hunter. You have my blood in your veins. And I promise that I will be there, watching over you, even if you do not know it. And I promise that I will make myself known to you, eventually. You will never be alone. I swear this on the river Styx."

Thunder boomed it the distance, a confirmation that her promise was understood.

She reached the door of the house, nestled in a clearing, with only a long driveway leading up to it. The lights were on in the main bedroom, but the soon to be guardians had knew that she would come this night. She laid Leon in a blanket on the doormat, and gently stroked his chest one last time. Before she left however, she put a necklace, which had her emblem, a half-moon, around his neck. He looked down, mystified at it, and then glanced back at her.

But by that time, the doorbell was wrung and his mother was gone. The new mother took her adopted child into her arms, and the husband looked over at the baby, already poking him in the nose. They took him into their prepared bedroom for him, and slipped him inside. They took the necklace off him and hung it on a small hook above his crib, noticing that it dimly glowed even in the pitch black.

The mother, Lisa, Daughter of Aphrodite, leaned down. She kissed the drowsy infant gently on the cheek, and then turned to leave with her husband. She looked back and, remembering the name that she heard in her head before the doorbell rang, spoke softly to the child.

"Sleep well, Leon. You have a huntress watching over you," she said. The half-moon on the necklace twinkled…

Artemis rendezvoused with her hunters a day later, after mentally making sure that leon was taken care of. Zoë stood up straight as a board when the Goddess approached, but Artemis laughed off the tension.

"I have not been gone that long Zoë. Did anything happen while I was away?" She asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, my lady. If I may ask, what were you doing?"

"Nothing that will affect us in the near future."

"All right, my lady," Zoë replied. She then sat back down by the fire.

Artemis looked back the way she came and breathed in the night air that blew into her face. She thought back to her newborn boy, cradled by trustworthy parents. Then she took to her tent. She had had a long, day…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

5 years later.

Little Leon ran out into the woods, laughing silently to himself. His adoptive Parents were sleeping, and the Moon was full. Leon had been cooped up in his room long enough, and was ready to explore. He had managed to reach up and open the window to his room, using several boxes as a stepping stool. He pulled with all his strength and managed to open the window, and out he jumped.

He laughed out loud, a shrill, excited little child's cry. He ran through the woods, howling like the wolves he heard in the distance, and ran from tree to tree, peeking out and seeing if the coast was clear of any pretend monsters. He went to the creek nearby, and stopped to take several drink before happily skipping away, laughing his excited cheer.

He climbed up one of the taller trees, one of his favorite things to do. When he reached the top, he spied out across the vast woods of Alaska, and breathed deeply of the night air. It was the summer, so the snows had not come just yet. The weather was warm, at least for Alaska's reputation for bitter coldness, and he heard the cry of elk in the distance.

Leon climbed down quickly, with skill from practicing a hundred times. Leon was incredibly fond of the wilderness. From the time he could walk, his parents had to keep a close eye on him, as he was fond of running off and just losing himself in all the atmosphere of the outdoors. He had one time gotten turned around, but even then, he had been able to find his way back. Leon took a deep breathe again, smiling as he took in the Earth's scent around him. He sat on top of a low branch, and looked up at one of his favorite things in the world…the moon.

He had always, from the time he could remember, loved the moon. Especially when it was bright, and when it was the main light for the world around him. Its white paleness, its mysteriousness, and its strange powers over some of the Earth's natural occurrences, made him marvel at it with pure, childlike awe. The light it cast swirled the world in a blue glow, and Leon could sit there and bask in it for hours.

Leon sat there on the branch and gazed at it with his young, happy gaze. He somehow, ever since first seeing it, felt almost a kinship with the moon. It was almost like it was his parent or something in that regard. He had never told his parents, because he simply didn't think they would believe him. But when he was sad, or angry, he would look up at it, and it would almost always calm him. Like a mother stroking his wet cheek.

Leon slowly lowered himself on the branch. It was surprisingly comfortable, nice and thick. He fought, but could not keep his eyes open, and slowly stretched out on the branch. His eyes slowly closed and the young boy was lulled to sleep, by the sounds of nature.

Leon woke an hour later, wiping his eyes with weariness. He looked around, but could not place his surroundings. He remembered falling asleep on the tree, but could not place where he currently was. He remember playing earlier that night, and watching the moon. He jumped down and began to retrace his steps.

But he couldn't. He looked for signs of previous passing, but could not find any. He slowly began to tremble as panic came over him. He walked one way for another, unti, he was sure that if he had come this way, then he would have found the house by now. He went another, then another, and finally began to whimper.

He walked along the creek, trying to find footsteps in the mud. But the little boy could not identify any familiar steps, and began to give up. Tears were flowing freely down his face as he began to breathe in an erratic manner. Fear began to cloud his judgment as he walked in random directions, quietly whimpering to himself.

Finally he sat down and began to silently weep. He was lost, pure and simple. Father had told him not to go out alone…why had he not listened? He cried more and more, but still, no help came. He cradled into a ball, and cried into his knees. Finally, his primal fear kicked in and he gently cried out.

"Mo…Mom…Mommy…"

He was crying when he saw it. He had his face buried in his knees when its glow caught his attention. He looked up to see a sight that he could not understand, yet all fear and sadness in him died at the sight.

About 20 feet before him lay a brilliant white doe. The deer observed him from a slight distance, but did not shy away from his sounds. It looked at him, almost intently like it wanted him to do something. Leon remained huddled, but his head rose in curiosity as he studied the animal. Finally, he uncurled himself and stood up. The creature did not run when he slowly approached. Leon decided to reach out his hand and touch the animal. And to his surprise, it did not shy away.

The animal began to slowly walk away. Leon began to feel saddened again, but was surprised when it looked at him again. It did not move for a moment, and when Leon again approached the animal, it walked away again, but slowly. Leon realized that, for some reason, this animal apparently wished for him to follow it. Leon could not believe it, as his father had always told him of the shyness of these creatures. But follow it, Leon did.

The animal led him in a certain direction. Leon cradled close to it as he walked, using its heat to keep warm. And the creature deer seemed to allow him to do so. Leon found it strange, but he welcomed it with all his heart. And soon, the house began to come into view. And Lisa was sitting outside of it, in her nightdress. She had a heavy coat on, and was anxiously looking for him, calling out his name. Leon squealed with joy, and turned to the animal, but to his surprise, the deer had somehow appeared at least 30 feet behind him, back in the clump of trees. It turned to go, but gave him one last look.

"Thank you deer!" Leon called. The deer then turned and…vanished. Leon gasped in surprise, but was quickly wrapped in the warm arms of his mother scolding him and hugging him at the same time.

Lisa looked where the deer had been, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, lady."

Artemis smiled.

"I told you I would be there for you, my little one," she softly said.


	3. Chapter 3

Here is Chapter three of "Son of a Hunter". I hope you all enjoy.

**And to those who flame my story over the whole nature of Artemis's virginity and her vows, read the first chapter of the story. It might just clear things up for you…If you are not one of those kinds of people, then I was not speaking to you. Enjoy the chapter...**

Review please!

10 year old Leon was just about this close to jumping off the walls with joy. It was just past his 10th birthday, and he had run for the presents that his parents presented him. Among the various electronics and some clothing, he had finally foung the object of his desire. It was a brand new hunting rifle. But it was not the Rifle that necessarily excited him so much, it was what his father said to him soon after.

"In just a few days son, I am going to take you out. And you are going to go on your first hunt. Those caribou do not stand a chance."

He had waited impatiently for his father to be ready. His father had been busily making arrangements for the two of them to stay overnight out in the woods. The tent was packed into the truck, along with tools that would be used to prepare the animal for transport back to the house. His mother had said that they would make a feast of the caribou, and she would use the rest to make the great beef jerky that he so much loved. Leon absolutely loved his mother's jerky. The flavor and spice far exceeded any other beef jerky that he had so far had eaten.

Finally, the day came upon them. His father gave him his own cameo suit to wear, in order to blend into the woods around them. He had demonstrated the new caller he had, which would be useful for luring the Caribou to their hunting area. And finally, he had allowed his child to test fire his new rifle, giving him the ability to cope with the recoil and power of the weapon. His father chuckled when he finally made a direct hit on the targets they set up.

"Boy, you are going to be a natural! I just know it!" His father said. Leon beamed with pride.

Lunch had been packed, and finally, the two of them were sent off, his mother waving them away. The two hiked for several hours before taking a break to eat. Leon bit into his sandwich with greedy hunger, savoring his mother's makings. When he had finished, his father took him to a particular clearing in the woods. They pitched the tent, and that night, his father told him the basic firing procedures.

"Take a deep breathe just before you pull the trigger . Let half of it out. Then squeeze the trigger. Don't jerk or yank it, squeeze it. If you jerk it, you will throw yourself off target. Do you understand?"

Leon nodded his confirmation, but did so only as an honorary gesture. He truly had not been paying all that much attention, his mind on the birds in the trees. His father took him in his arms and kissed the top of his head.

"I know you will get your first chance tomorrow. And it will be a success. I haven't taught you how to be a failure, and you won't fail hunting. I just know it!"

Leon laughed in joy.

The next day, his father took him a mile from the campsite, and placed him in a grove of trees in a lesser dense area of woods. He had loaded several rounds into his rifle and placed him in a concealed position, hiding him for the most part.

"Now son, you must remain deathly quiet. Animals can hear even the slightest movement. You also must be as still as you can be, for they can sense the motions you make with equal prowess. The secret is to simply remain as queit and still as possible, and to confirm your target before shooting. That is a lesson that has saved lives. Always be sure of your target before you even put your hand on the trigger. Do you understand?"

Leon nodded his reply, not speaking due to what he had just been told.

"I will go back several hundred yards and let out the call. If a Caribou comes by, you are free to take the shot. Remember, the best place is to hit it just several inches under the shoulder blade. That is almost always instant death, and the animal does not suffer for long."

Again, Leon nodded his understanding. His father gave him a long, firm squeeze on the shoulder, and then silently disappeared into the woods behind him. Leon took a deep breathe and waited. Sure enough, the resounding cry from his dad's caller rang out, and Leon waited for any sings of approaching animals. He did not have long to wait.

He heard a slight rustle in the area slightly ahead of him. He stood rock still, and was barley breathing. He heard the sounds again, closer this time. He squinted into the distance, and saw something coming his way. What it was was not known, but sure enough, coming his way it was.

Leon positioned himself facing the creature coming, and rested his finger on the trigger guard. The largest caribou he had ever seen was coming toward his father's crying caller, and he could see the hugeness of the creature even from this distance. Huge horns dominated its head. Huge mounds of flesh covered its sides. And its coat was pure brown, almost shining in the morning light. Leon's breathe caught in his throat. He placed his finger on the trigger, and took aim. He tried to remember the basic firing procedures. What were they again?

Leon's heart sank. He should have paid attention…

The caribou was coming on, and in a few dozen seconds would be past his hiding place and gone before he could take his shot. Leon began to slightly panic. He strained to remember the words his father told him. But he quickly began to regret his lack of attention, as he could simply not recall them. The caribou came steadily on, and his chance began to look dim. He could not afford to take a wild shot…

"_Take a deep breathe_"

Leon almost jerked his head up at the voice. He had no doubt in his mind that he had heard a woman's voice speak to him. But there were no women or anything human around him at the moment. It was just him and the Caribou. Then something occurred to him? Is this voice telling him what to do? Almost like it was helping him?

"_Take a deep breathe_" He heard it again. And something in his heart said to follow its direction. He took a deep breathe.

"_Let half of it out_"

Leon obeyed. He carefully let out half of the air in his lungs.

"_Aim at the area just below the shoulders_"

Leon took aim. He placed the center of the cross in his scope squarely on the area the voice told him to. He placed his finger on the trigger once again, and this time with confidence.

"_Squeeze the trigger. Don't pull or jerk, but squeeze_."

Leon squeezed the trigger.

The rifle let out a bang and recoiled, but he was able to rock with it, as his father taught him. The caribou shrank to the ground the almost an instant after he fired, and it had not even cried out. Leon looked up from his scope's view, and took it in. He actually could not imagine having fired his first shot so accurately. But it felt completely natural to him, after that woman spoke to him. He strained to hear the voice again, and it spoke but two words to him this time…

"_Well Done…_"

"Who are you!?" Leon called, but there was no answer. Just the silence, with the dying echo of his shot being the only sound. His father ran up ten seconds later, and seeing the dead caribou, took the rifle from his son's hands. He then took his shoulders in his arms, and looked down into his face, a huge smile on his father's face.

"I told you that you would be a natural! We are going to have some delicious caribou meat tonight my son! And it's all thanks to you!"

Leon slowly smiled.

A little ways off, observing them in the distance, a goddess smiled as well.

"Very good my son. Very good indeed…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is Chapter 4 folks…I promise that Leon will be going to Camp half-blood very soon after. It will probably in the next chapter. But in the mean time, here is another chapter to bridge the gap. Remember to Review!**

13 year old Leon awoke to the ringing alarm clock on his nightstand. He grumbled and swatted at it, missing it several times, before cursing and trudging out, finally turning of the damn thing. He had a strict time of awakening, usually 8 in the morning, but 6 on School days. Ever since he complained to his mother about getting a little responsibility for his life, she had just had to give him a list of chores to do about the house. Tending to the small garden in the back, emptying trash cans all around, and making sure all his father's gear, as well as his own, were in tip-top shape…

"Me and my big mouth," He muttered to himself.

He dressed and went outside to the garden area, where he had his first chore of the day. As he watered the various vegetables, he took deep breathes of the nice, woody scent of the air around him. He utterly loved the outdoors, and if given the choice, he would happily spend all his life their, hunting and fishing and sleeping under the stars…when it wasn't raining of course.

He was half-way through the process when his father opened the door and called a out to him, beckoning him inside. Grumbling that it was going to take longer to finish since he was interrupted, he trudged over, where his father was grinning happily. He has on a standard long-sleeved shit with a vest over it, along with standard jeans. In his hands was a smoking cup of coffee, and he looked more happy than usual. Just when Leon reached him, He spoke in an excited manner.

"Good morning Leon! We have a guest here, and I would like you to meet her!" he said with great happiness. Leon faked a smile and entered the house. When he stepped into the dining area where his mother was sitting with the visitor, he froze. He had never been so captivated in his life by what he saw.

His mother was sitting and chatting next to a girl, apparently his own age. But it was not the fact that this girl was his own age and was speaking like someone of his own age, no, it was not that. Nor was it the clothes or the way she had her hair. But he had never so seen a more beautiful girl in his life. He was almost pained to look at her. Like she was a sun burning in his room. He was so flustered that he actually looked at the ground for a moment, to catch his thoughts. Finally he raised his head and took a firm look at her, embarrassed to no end.

She was about his age, no older than 13. She had auburn hair that reached her mid-back, and it almost seemed to flow around her, yet there was no breeze blowing. Her skin was slightly pale, and was completely devoid of any Imperfections, like acne or scars. But when she looked at him in the eyes, and they contacted, his breathe again caught in his throat. Her eyes were silvery yellow, and reminded him so much of the moon that he loved. The moon that comforted him, and the moon that captivated him so much, seemed reflected at him through her eyes.

She smiled at him, and again he had to look at the ground to keep breathing, not being able to look at her in this state. Such beauty seemed to almost burn his eyes and force the air from his lungs. His mother, who was sitting next to the girl with her own drink, laughed at his reactions. She turned to the strange angel in the room and spoke.

"You must forgive him. You seemed to have made an impression." She turned to Leon, who was glancing at the girl with his face mostly facing the ground. He was apparently trying to look at the girl with out actually taking all of her in view. Like trying to indirectly look at the sun.

"Leon, this is a friend of ours who will be visiting for a couple of hours. She is passing through and stopped by. She said she wanted to talk to you especially."

Leon opened his mouth to speak, and literally had to force the words outs.

"H…Hi…Hello"

The girl laughed. It was so musical the way she did so. Leon did not think that he had heard anything so sweet in his life.

"Hello Leon. It is good to meet you."

Lisa stood up, taking the empty cup from in front of the girl. She turned to Leon, who was becoming bolder now that the ice was broken with this strange girl.

"Leon, why don't you take her outside and show her the garden. Maybe even take her to the hunting shed and show her all your gear. She said she is very into hunting herself."

The girl nodded. "You bet I am!"

Leon straightened himself. He nodded his way toward the garden out back and finally found his voice.

"Well, come on. I'll show you around."

"That would be cool, Leon." The girl said.

They went out to the garden out back. Leon glanced back at her from time to time. Who is this girl? He thought. He had not been told of any friends of his family for as long as he had been there. His parents were very popular in town, what with his father's hunting ability and his mother's apparent beauty. But this was the first time he had ever seen this girl, and the first time he had been so taken with the looks of someone. He had thought that girls in the local town were quite attractive, but had never been smitten with any of them.

He began to point out all the different plants that were growing, and the girl listened with amused interest. He pointed out the best way to grow them, when to water them, and standard gardening procedures, before realizing that he had been babbling out of awkwardness. But the girl simply laughed and told him it was quite alright.

"After all, I already knew all about gardening." She said.

"You do?" Leon replied, embarrassed once again.

"Yeah. I have a relative of mine that I see every so often. She is really into gardening. But I am really into hunting. My parents say that if I were to be a goddess, hunting would be my way of life."

Leon cheered up at the notion of hunting. Ever since his first hunt with his father, he had grown a huge love of it. The tracking of the animal, the sighting and observation, and then the thrill of putting your face to the scope and the finger on the trigger, was almost what he lived for. And nothing beat the excitement of making a successful shot into the animal, right where it was most vulnerable. That guaranteed an instant and painless kill, for he did not believe the animal should ever suffer.

"Well, in that case, follow me!" He said with great pleasure, and the girl followed him to the shed where all their equipment, as well as their rifles, were kept and maintained.

Leon took far more pleasure in showing off his hunting gear. He showed her the different parts of his rifle, and even took it apart and put it back for her, showing off how fast he could do so. He showed her the different tools they used, and demonstrated his duck and caribou callers for her. She observed him with much greater interest this time, and seemed far more impressed with him when he was showing off hunting prowess than with the simple garden. Leon was just putting his rifle away when she finally spoke in that soft, fluent voice she had.

"You know Leon, firearms truly are a great thing. But I actually prefer a bow."

Leon looked up at her, interest sparkling in his eyes. He had never hunted with a bow before. He wondered how it would be different.

"Bows? I never hunted with one of those. I always thought of them as slightly outdated."

The girl giggled slightly and shook her head. Leon thought he had made a grave mistake, but she smiled knowingly at him.

"People use firearms so much these days, that they forget the simple power of a bow. A good bow shot will kill any animal that a rifle can. And I always think them as much more traditional. They were used for thousands of years before firearms. And they can still come quite as much in handy, with the right training and in the right hands."

Leon was quite interested.

"If my dad will get me one, I'll give it a shot…no pun intedend."

The girl laughed heartily at this. Then she looked slightly depressed, like something had run out.

"It is time for me to go. My friends will be waiting."

"Oh…"

The girl put her hand on his cheek. Leon felt a strange sensation at this. Not that a girl he had just met was doing such a gesture, but that it felt familiar somehow. It was like he had felt it at some time in his life. It felt like the gesture that a mother would touch her son when she was happy with him…

"I am very impressed. But I have got to go now. Thank you for showing me all this stuff Leon."

Leon nodded. He turned to put the last of his trinkets in it's respective compartment. Then he realized that he had not asked the girl her name, and turned back to where she had been.

And she was gone…

* * *

Back at the house, Lisa, Daughter of Aphrodite, was cleaning dishes. She felt a small tapping sound and turned to see Lady Artemis, still in casual clothes, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She had a smile on her young face, though that young face was probably nearly four thousand years old.

"You have done an exemplary job raising him, Lisa. I am very much pleased with you and your husband. You have been a fine mother to him, when I can not be."

Lisa bowed slightly.

"Thank you, lady."

Artemis nodded. There was a flash of light and she was in her godly huntress clothing. She smiled once again.

"Give my regards to your husband. He has taught him to be an extremely good hunter. More than even I could have anticipated. You two are going to be very well rewarded for this, I promise you."

"Thank you."

Aretmis turned to leave. She paused and turned back to Lisa, her expression more serious.

"Have you told him that you are not his biological mother?"

Lisa bowed her head.

"No Lady"

"You may have to soon. He will be fifteen in just over a year. And when that happens, you know where he must go. I promise that I will be able to watch over him from then on. But you will not be cut out of the picture, kind woman. He will be free to contact you and visit, if he should so please. It is the least I can do. You did raise him, and quite admirably if I might say."

Lisa breathed a slight breathe of anxiousness, but Artemis's reassurances calmed her for the most part.

"Yes my Lady. Thank you."

Artemis smiled once again.

"Until we meet again. Goodbye Lisa, Daughter of Aphrodite."

"Good-bye"

Artemis was gone in a flash of light.

Artemis watched as Leon walked back and forth, doing the last of his chores for the day. She smiled as he she watched him move with such grace, like a true hunter. His mortal adoptive father had done a truly good job in teaching him the fundemntals of hunting, so much that he impressed Artemis with his knowledge.

"You are truly my son, Leon. And I will make sure that your process to the next stage of your life goes as smoothly as can be…Goodnight Leon," She said. She sent a warm breeze through the chilly twilight air, and Leon stopped for a moment, enjoying it.

And then she was gone…


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is Chapter 5 folks. I had to give this one some thought, as I wasn't sure how to introduce him to the fact he is a half-blood. But I thought about it and decided that this was the best way to do it.**

**Just to avoid confusion, his "parents' wanted to keep him as long as possible. They truly care for him. So this chapter is kind of emotional.**

Leon awoke like he always did, at the sound of his alarm clock going off. He got out of bed and walked to the bathroom, like he always does. He ate breakfast and brushed his teeth and combed his hair, like he always does. He did his chores, like he always does. But this day was different. Something about it just reeked of something he could not quite identify.

His mother was bleary eyed. It seemed she had not slept well for several days. His father was rather solemn, but he noticed that he hugged him a awful lot these days. He would watch his mother do the dishes and come back later to see her moping over pictures of him as a baby, tears streaming down her face. He would come up to ask what the matter was, but she would quickly compose herself.

Hus father had been doing something of the same, only with his rifles and hunting gear. The horns of his first kill were cut off and hung on the wall of the hunting shed. He would catch his father staring at them, lost in thought. He too would be silently crying, but he seemed happier than his mother, as he would always look toward Leona and give a firm nod. As If approving of him.

Leon took all of this in and realized something was up. He sat on his bed later that day, pondering of what the source of all the emotion he had been seeing was. The necklace that had been given to him at birth was in his fingers, and he looked at it in wonder. Just who had given him this necklace, he had never known. He truly had not given thought to ask, but assumed that it was his parents. He always admired the necklace, it's radiance and sense of peace it gave him as he slept under it, much like sleeping with the moon shining above him. He loved the way moonlight reflected off of it…

He was placing it on the nail above his bed where it hung, when there was a knock on the door. He looked up to see his mother entering the room, and she looked like she had just been crying. He wondered why she seemed so sad, so hurt. She walked over to him and sat next to him on the bed, gazing for a moment at the moon necklace. Then she looked at him and smiled a sad smile.

"Leon…" She said, and took him in her arms, holding him like she would when he had hurt himself or failed a hunt. Leon took comfort in the familiar gesture, but separated himself when he finally got the nerve to ask the big question.

"Mom, what is going on? I mean, you and dad have been so…whacked out about something. But you never tell me. Please mom…what is going on?"

His mother looked into his eyes for a moment, then a tear slowly slid down her cheek. She looked down at the ground for a moment, then finally said in a low voice…

"Almost Fifteen years…I have raised you for nearly fifteen years…"

"I know mom. My birthday is tomorrow. But what is the matter…tell me."

She looked again at him and opened her mouth, but hesitated, as if she did not know what to say. She finally seemed to force words out, and they were no something that a child truly wants to hear.

"Leon…I am not your biological mother…"

Leon froze. Time itself seemed to freeze. His jaw set, and his eyes stared dead-straight into his mothers. That information was like a paralyzing shock right into him. He stayed like that for how long…who knows? His mother let out another silent tear and gently caressed his face.

"Leon…please let me explain…we love you…we love you so much…but when we took you in, we knew it was only for a limited time…We-"

"What do you mean I am adopted?" Leon suddenly interrupted, his voice more forceful than he expected.

"Leon, we are not your parents by blood…You were born of a different mother…"

"Who is it then? Who is my mother!?" Leon screeched. He truly could not believe what was currently taking place. He had loved them like they were his family, because for nearly fifteen years, they were. Why now would they reveal this information to him?

"Leon…do you…do you know…about the gods of Ancient Greece?"

His mother had often told him bedtime stories of them, about their deeds and exploits. Such stories had filled him with wonder and excitement. He really liked the ones about Artemis and the hunters. When he heard those stories, he truly felt a kinship with them, for his love of hunting and the outdoors was powerful beyond his understanding.

"Yes _mother_, I do…you _did_ say bedtime stories about them. And just what do they have to do with this?" He snarled, still only half-believing what exactly was going on.

"Leon…please don't yell at me…you are…a child of one of them."

Leon almost laughed. Had his mother gone insane? Was this some kind of birthday joke!? Just what on God's green earth was going on here!?

"Leon please…you are a half-blood. A demi-god. I know. I myself am one."

Leon gave pause..

"What?"

"You are a child of a Olympian god Leon. I am a daughter of Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty.

Leon only laughed..

"Leon it is true! You are the direct child of a god of Olympus!"

"Mother, you have been having something tire you dearly. I don't think you are speaking in the right mindset. Do you want some coffee?"

"Leon, I am telling you the truth. And tomorrow, I am to take you to a place for kids like you."

Leon stopped laughing. What had she just said…?

"What?"

"Tomorrow Leon, I am going to send you to a place called camp-half blood. It is a special place where you will be safe, and they will teach you how to defend yourself."

"Defend myself? From What?"

"Monsters."

Leon laughed again. Had the whole world truly gone off its rocker?

"Monsters aren't real mom. Please stop speaking nonsense."

"They haven't reached you because I have kept you safe for all these years, in promise to your Olympian mother!"

"And just how have you been keeping me safe…WHOA!" Leon yelped in surprise.

His mother had taken out a perfume bottle and uncapped it. Before his eyes, it took a new form, becoming longer and thicker, until she held a shining bronze sword. It was of a bronze material that he had not seen before, and it seemed to give off a celestial light.

"They have sensed you Leon. And I kept them away from you. So you can have a normal life as long as you could. But time is up. I promised your mother that I would send you there when you turned fifteen. That day is tomorrow, and I must do as she wishes. Leon…I love you and your…father…does as well. You are our child, as much as we care. But your place is now with others like you. And that is where you must go!"

His mother had stood up when making that speech, and shrugged off her dress. Beneath it, she was clad in armor, and had a bronze dagger sheathed on her thigh. Leon took in the sight before him. It was like his mother had become Xena. Leon's lip started to quiver, and he did not know what to think. Time again assumed its low crawl, and he tried to stand up. But his legs betrayed him, and he fell to the ground…

But his mother, at least, the one who raised and apparently protected him, caught him. She laid his head against her armored chest, directly on top of her heart. And she cradled him as he began to powerfully cry, for reasons not even he knew. But the tears and sobs seemed to rip from his body, like a demon being cast out of his soul. And his mother, at least the one who was there for him, gently stroked his hair. She whispered soothing words to him, and held him there for as long as it seemed necessary.

Leon barely slept that night. Instead he looked out at the full moon. He opened his window and breathed the scent of nature deep into his lungs. He heard the sounds of the wilderness, and most of all, looked deeply into the wonder of the moon. He let it's milky light pour over him, steeling himself from further crying. He continued to take deep breathes as he fought the urge to cob again. Nature had always been his great comforter, almost like a mother to him. The cries of the wolves and the calls of the Caribou had been his lullaby. The water from the creek when he went hunting had been his nourishment. And the rays of the moon, so vast and deep when full, had been his relief. Its power gave him courage, and when he felt its gaze upon him, he felt truly unstoppable.

But the moon does not shine forever…and soon the dawn must come. Leon awoke and looked about his room, the familiar things that he had seemed so foreign to him now. But that must be the case when your mother tells you that not only have you been adopted, but have a warrior demi-god for a adoptive mother, told that monsters are real, and told that you are the child of a God that you have only heard from in stories…

Life truly gave you a shock to the system sometimes…

* * *

His parents had taken him to the airport, his father driving, and his mother taking glances at his silent form in the backseat. He had been told that nothing was necessary, everything would be provided when he reached camp. No clothing was needed, nor entertainment. But he had taken the necklace, tucked down into his shirt. With the moon gone, it was his comfort. With it, the moon was always there.

They got out of the car a little ways away from the air port and walked there in silence. His mother turned to him at the entrance of the building, and spoke the first words of the day.

"You will be able to visit and talk to us. I swear to you Leon, if you ever need anything…anything…give me a call or an IM. You will find out about those at camp…" She trailed off.

His father gave him one last hug. He looked into his eyes, but spoke nothing. He did not need to. The hunter's instinct in Leon's head told him everything he needed to know about what his father wanted. Nothing at all needed to be spoken between the two. His father looked into his eyes for a moment longer, and then nodded. He then began to walk back to the car.

His mother looked at him one last time. She did not see him, but saw the boy that was her son, even if he was not of her blood. He was of her heart. And he always would be. She nodded toward the lobby inside the building.

"Wait in there. There will be representatives of the camp to get on the plane with you, and they will guide you to camp…Leon, whatever you may think of us, just you know that. You are our child, and you always will be. I swear this to you, on the river Styx, when you need help, I will be there."

To Leon's surprise, thunder boomed in the distance. It was a cloudless day, no a sigh of bad weather anywhere. Yet it thundered. It was truly perplexing.

His mother kissed him on the cheek, and opened the door. It was quite early, and no one was in the lobby.

"Now go my son. Do not look back."

Leon stared at her one last second, trying to burn her image in his mind. The he turned and stepped past the barrier, a silent tear sliding down his cheek when he walked away…

* * *

How long Leon sat on that seat in the lobby, he will not know. He sat there, thinking about what his mother said to him. He truly was lost. He was the lost sheep away from his flock. One that only heroes could return him too…

He heard them before he saw them. Three young teens entered the lobby. They looked around for a second, then walked up to him. One was black haired and had the bluest eyes that Leon could think of. They reminded him of the ocean.

The other was blond, with strtling grey eyes. She smiled when she saw him, and seemed very confident in the way she approached him. The last was scraggly looking, but he had a cheerful smile on his face, and seemed to radiate a welcoming presence.

They walked up to him, and Leon looked up at them, taking them in. One of them hel out his hand, and Leon shook it.

"Hello. You must be Leon. My name is Percy Jackson. This is Annabeth Chase, and that's Grover Underwood. We are here to take you to Camp-Half Blood…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 has arrived. Don't forget to hit the review button and type a few words.**

Percy, Annabeth and Grover guided Leon through the airport. It was not very big, and in no time, they were all sitting down waiting for their flight's call. Percy was sitting on Leon's right, with Annabeth taking the left. Grover sat across from them, watching the clouds as they passed.

"Why do you seem so down?" Percy asked.

How could he even bear to ask him that? If he had just been told that his mother wasn't his real mother, and that his real mother was a goddess, then how would he react? Leon still did not believe half of what was happening. He just looked at Percy with sad eyes, which clued Percy in.

"I know you are going through a rough time at this moment. It takes a while to realize what you have just been told is the truth. But I promise Leon, things will get better."

"You really think so?" Leon asked his own voice seeming alien in his throat.

"Positive."

Leon only slowly nodded.

Annabeth had been studying him for sometime and finally spoke.

"Leon, do you have any idea of who your Olympian parent is? Some people know right off the bat, while others are undetermined for a while. So, do you have any idea?"

Leon shook his head.

"My…mother…told me that it was my true mother who was the goddess. But she never said anything else…I really wasn't thinking clearly, so I did not ask. I'm still not thinking clearly…"

Annabeth nodded her understanding. She squeezed his hand for a moment, then released him to his thoughts. Grover leaned in, taking Leon's attention.

"Leon, I promise you man, you are going to utterly love camp. They have everything there. Sword fighting, archery, woodsmanship, metalworking, the works!"

Leon looked up, his eyes still showing his sad feelings inside. Grover's smile shrank, and he nodded his head in confirmation.

The intercom announced that their flight was boarding, and the group, with the few people there were, climbed aboard. Leon was placed in the innermost seat next to the windows. Percy sat next to him, with Annabeth and Grover behind them. None of them had brought any entertainment, so Leon just gazed out toward the woods in the distance, his heart aching to be among them. To be tunning through the trees, his rifle in hand, as he tracked the animal through the dense wilderness.

Eventually, after having no sleep the previous night, he let his eyes close and his dreams take over…

He was awoken with a strart as the plane hit tarmac. Percy looked up and grinned when he saw Leon awoken by the jolt, and slipped his hand through his black hair.

"Thank the Gods. I thought Chiron's appeal would never get through to Zeus and he would blast me from the sky. Seems like his offerings came through though…"

"Zeus?" Leon said

Percy glanced back

"Yeah. He is king of the Gods and Lord of the Sky."

Leon only shook his head in disbelief.

The group disembarked from the plane and passed through customs with no problem. A vehicle with a large, muscle bound man was waiting for them.

"That's Argus," Annabeth explained. "Please don't freak out when we get in the car."

Leon only wondered what there was to be freaked out about. That is, until he got into the vehicle, with Argus slipping behind the driver's seat. What he saw made him wonder just why he bothered to get off the plane, or if he was still dreaming. But if he was, it was a nightmare.

On Argus' hand, an eye opened. An honest to god…or gods…eye opened on the man's hand. Leon looked at it for a moment, and shook his head. Clearly he was just seeing things. But when he looked again, it was still there, and Argus had an amused expression on his face.

"What…What..What the…WHAT THE HELL!?" Leon cried out.

Annabeth cringed, but could not suppress a giggle.

"Don't worry. Everyone who sees that gets freaked out. It is just one of Argus' traits. No one can sneak up on him. Not while he has his eye on them. And as you can see, he has many to spare."

Leon only gaped at the eye. He really could not do much more…

The van parked on the side of the street. Argus gave them a wave and drove on off, the eye on his hand seeming to wink at Leon as he waved. Leon was relieved to get away from that guy, as, well, eyes opening on someone's hand just did no seem like your average day occurrence. Well, in the normal world at least.

The group walked Leon through the trail past a strange pine tree. It had a mysterious object hanging over it, but Leon did not get a good look at it as he passed through. When he walked past it however, he seemed to encounter resistance of some kind. It was not difficult to walk through, but it was enough to notice. Percy saw Leon's face as he walked, and smiled knowingly.

"Welcome to camp Half-Blood Leon."

Leon looked out and saw what looked like something you would see at a medieval fair. Kids were running around in armor and sparring with swords. Some were throwing javelins and shooting arrows at the archery range. He gazed out and saw a crystal blue lake, with a nice sandy beach.

But what was the most pleasing was the fact that it was in the woods. That alone made it feel like it could be something of a home to him. It may never be the woods of Alaska, yet he felt a strange power here, something he never felt in his home state. What it was, he could not say, but it pleased him nonetheless.

Percy placed his hand on his shoulder and guided him toward a huge building in the center of the encampment. On its porch sat a man in a wheelchair. He looked up and saw Leon approaching, and he smiled broadly. He placed a hand out to him, and Leon was so comforted by this man, for reasons unknown, that he took it without suspicion.

"Hello Leon. I am Chiron the activities director for the camp. I am pleased to see you have gotten here safely."

Leon nodded his understanding. What had happened to him in the last two days had been a shock to his system, but he felt like he was getting over it. He looked out over the camp, and turned to Chiron, who was sitting a little straighter in his wheelchair.

"What is this place exactly?"

"This is a camp for the mortal children of the Gods. Here you learn to fight and defend yourself from the monsters out there. Those that wish to kill you, either for sport or for food. They are attracted to the blood of Demi-gods, or Half-bloods. For that reason, this camp was started, in order to show half-bloods how to cope with a variety of situations regarding these creatures."

"So the creature that appeared in the Stories, and all the myths…they were real?" Leon asked

"My boy, they would have not been recorded otherwise. And they are still quite alive. They never die, and they will look for any reason to kill you. But here, I promise you will know what to do. We will teach you."

Leon could do nothing but nod. But then a thought occurred to him

"Chiron is your name, huh? Like the centaur in the myths?"

"Exactly. That would be me all right."

"But why are you in a wheelchair?"

Chiron smiled.

"My boy, this is how I appear when I do not wich to show my true form. If you must however…"

Chiron reared up in his wheelchair. He reached out with his two front legs, which didn't look like front legs anymore, but hooves. His wheelchair slid back as the rest of the horse-like body emerged. Leon stood frozen in place, not believing what he saw. First Argus's eye trick, then a man becoming half-horse.

"Holy…" Leon began.

Chiron gave a small smile out of understanding. He reached down and took Leon's shoulders, looking into his eyes. He saw the trauma of what Leon had probably gone through when all of this came to fold. He saw the scared boy that had been sheltered for a limited time, but after seeing all of what he just did, it had come back in his eyes.

"Leon, I know how you feel. You have just been told that you mother is an immortal goddess of Olympus. I know that Angus might have taken pleasure in frightening you with his many eyes. But I assure you that you will come to no harm here. Here you are home, among others like you. All of the students here are Half-bloods like your-self. Most of them have had a hard time coming to terms with it, when they were first told of their lineage. But I promise that we will make the transition to your new world as smooth as possible."

Leon seemed to regain some of his composure, as he stopped staring at Chiron's horse half and into Chiron's eyes, and then nodded. Chiron gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then turned to Percy and Annabeth, who were just behind Leon, in case he fainted in shock or something in that field. He nodded toward the cabins and the two knew what he wanted. Chiron clomped off, and Annabeth came up behind him and placed another reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, let's get you settled. Dinner will be in a few hours, and tomorrow morning, we will give you the grand tour.

Leon nodded slowly, letting them lead him away toward the cabins.

That night, Leon sat at the Hermes table with the Gods children, and all the undetermined. He still did not really believe in Gods, but after what he just saw, he was ready to believe in Godzilla…But not the Gods. Not yet.

The campers scraped a piece of their dinner into the fire and bowed their heads, saying their parent's name. When Leon's turn came, he did the same and bowed, but did not speak. He did not know who's name to say anyway.

"Well, I see that we have another wonderful year ahead of us. Unfortunately, that time is me spending it with you little brats," a annoying voice reached Leon's ears.

He looked up to see a slightly chubby man sitting at the staff table, sitting outward, facing the campers. He sipped from a wine glass he held and glared out over the campers. Something about him struck a chord with Leon. Something he did not like.

"I know you all are just so excited to be here again, unlike me who hates all…well, let's just say that we hope it's a fun year and yada-yada. We have a new camper today, Leon Glenmark. Welcome to camp, you little hellion. And that's the announcements for tonight. Tomorrow you start training. Now leave me alone." He turned back to the table and began drinking again, mumbling to himself.

Chiron stepped forward and spoke.

"Two weeks until our capture the flag game. I expect you all to be raring to go, so I will do a special favor for this one. It will be a night game, under the full moon."

The campers roared with delight. Leon asked what was so special about it, and the girl next to him claimed that those games were always the best. Nothing but the moon and occasional torched to light the path. It added to the ferocity and increased ambush potential.

Leon took heart from that. Whatever happened during that game, he would be in his home element. Out in the woods at night, with the moon full and bright on his back. As he alid on in his sleeping bag after lights out, he took out his moon necklace and stroked it. It gave him a wave of comfort and he slowly put it back under his sleeping shirt, closing his eyes. Whatever happened, he would face it. Face it like the man his father always taught him to be…


	7. Chapter 7

**Please Review and tell me what you think. I really would like to get some reviews before I think about the next chapter. **

**Here is chapter 7.**

The night had been a rather uncomfortable for Leon. He lay in his sleeping bag, a pillow on the ground beneath his head, and could not get to sleep. He tossed and turned and shifted position, but could not get his body to seep into unconsciousness. He looked at the stars, so bright in the night sky. He felt another yearning to be out there, to run below them and hunt the animals of the woods.

He checked each constellation as his father had taught them. He especially liked the one called "The Huntress". He did not know if it was simply the name or the way it looked, but the hunter in him felt almost kinship with it, like it was his sister among the stars. The bow in her hands as she ran through the sky looked exhilarating, and he hoped that someday, he too would be remembered in such a way.

But alas, he could not afford to sleep any longer, and his eyes closed slowly, sleep finally coming upon the young hunter. He dreamed that night. He dreamed of the hunt, running through the woods with his rifle in hand, his father's words guiding his shots as he took down the deer and elk and caribou. But then another dream started, one that he had had for several years, and enjoyed very much when he had it.

He saw a wolf pack running through the trees, their bodies moving so gracefully and fast. They moved with almost effortless grace, their feet making virtually no sound as they moved through the snow. The caribou did not stand a chance, as the wolves hunted in perfect pack cohesion, bringing down the animal without any trouble. After they ate, they moved to the top of a tall mountain. And there, with the pack's alpha at the very top, they would all lift their heads and howl at the moon, a beautiful and haunting sound. He sometimes ached to recreate it through his own throat, and his parents would laugh when he did…

A large booming drum filled the air, and the cabin gradually came to life around him. He campers looked up and blinked in the dim light from the early morning haze that crept through the window. The counselor got up and began to move through the cabin, pounding the bunks wood and telling everyone to awaken. He stopped at Leon's side as Leon was stretching his torso up to get rid of the tightness.

"Sleep well, new guy?" He asked.

"Pretty good, once I drifted off. I've had better and I have had worse," Leon replied.

The counselor nodded and proceeded onward. Leon got up and followed his cabin-mates to the showers, where the hot water felt like manna from heaven upon his skin. After he changed, they ate a surprisingly heart break-fast, Leon not realizing that he had not eaten much lately. He wolfed everything they put in front of him. He was approached by several of the cabin's campers, especially the Stoll Brothers.

"We want to make it easy for you, at least for your first few days," the one called Travis said. "If you need anything, just ask. We'll see what we can do for you, especially if it requires some…unscrupulous actions," He said with a slight smile.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Leon replied, knowing that the two were regulars of the Hermes cabin, or direct children.

As they walked off, Percy came over and chatted with Leon for a bit. He asked him how he was doing and other assorted material, but half-way through their talk; a toned, mean looking girl approached them. Percy saw her coming and rolled his eyes, telling Leon not to do anything stupid. Before Leon knew what Percy was talking about, The girl had put herself squarely in front of Leon.

"Hey there, new kid. I hope you have been having a good breakfast, because, guess what, I get to be your sword fighting instructor for the day. And by the time I am done with you, you are going to wish that you had not been even considered for this camp. The name is Clarisse, and I am going to make you remember that." With that, she walked off. Percy gave Leon a sympathetic look.

"Don't worry too much about her. She really is a bully, but she has a definite soft side to her. You'll see."

Leon did no think so much…

Chiron stopped by a little later and gave Leon his schedule for the next few weeks. He would have geek language skills class with Annabeth first thing in the morning. He would then be sent to the arena for sword fighting. Next would be archery. Then he had thrown weapons, and finally swimming, which would be taught by Percy Jackson.

Leon went to the Greek language skills class. He sat under a tree and recited Greek letters and common words with Annabeth, who was pretty uncertain on how to grade Leon. He seemed about average with those skills. But the next session made Leon want to curl up into a bubble at the bottom of the ocean and never come out. Clarisse was waiting for him, with several other instructors from the Ares cabin, and each was grinning like a fiend about to swallow Leon whole.

"Here you go, new kid. Let's see if you got it in you," Clarisse said, handing him a sword. Leon gripped it, and felt the weight, not really liking the feel in his hand. Clarisse showed him basic slashing and stabbing, and then began to spar with him. And then things got ugly.

"Your guard is too low, and you're not being aggressive at all! Try again!" Clarisse snarled. Leon lunged again, clumsily, and Clarisse knocked his sword out of his hand once again. He retrieved his sword and attacked again, trying to act defiant, but Clarisse just slapped his sword aside and knocked him on the back of his helmet with her blade, making Leon see lights dance around his eyes and lose focus. Then she knocked his blade out of his hand for the twentieth time and finally screeched about how miserable he was, and he should not be allowed in this place. Leon was able to keep the tears in his eyes until lunch, but the pain of failure was a burning sensation in his gut for the rest of the day.

That cleared up somewhat for his next class, thank god…or gods. Archery was taught by the Apollo cabin, and the instructors were far more tolerant and caring than the Ares campers of the sword fighting class. Leon took his bow and assumed the stance they were taught, pulled the arrow back, and then let fly. To his utter amazement, the arrow struck the target just barely to the left of the bulls-eye. The instructor took a position just behind him, and changed his stance just slightly.

The next arrow struck the target square on the mark. Right between the target's eyes and a few right to the heart. The instructor took off his sunglasses in amazement.

"You sure your God Parent is one of the goddesses? You fire that arrow like one of us! I would put my money on you being a child of Apollo!" He exclaimed. The misery of the sword fighting left Leon's heart and mind when the praise of the archery instructor truly sunk in. But his words made him think. He knew his mother was a goddess, but where there not two archery gods?

"Hey, isn't there a goddess who is supposed to be really good with bows as well?" He asked the instructor.

"Yes, Artemis. Goddess of the hunt, the moon, and childbirth. But don't get your hopes up kid, she is a sworn virgin. And you know that means no children. After all, no bu-chica-wow-wow, then no kids. Sorry."

Leon nodded his head, but something did not feel right. He had always loved the moon, and hunting was his life. He felt far more kinship with this goddess then with his goddess mother, whoever that might be.

Throwing weapons was about average for Leon. He was pretty much a hit-or-miss type, not hitting everything, yet sometimes being right on the mark. The instructor was pleased with how accurate he was when he hit the target however, and suggested he put extra time into that when he wasn't getting tutored on sword skills. Which, judging by the looks on the Ares counselors, was going to be every second of his spare time.

Swimming turned out to be a lot of fun. There were around 13 campers for this class, and Percy was a surprisingly good instructor. He showed them basic material, such as how to stay afloat and then taught them how to doggy-paddle. He told them that they would be learning more in the next session, and then turned them loose for the rest of the class to swim around and play some swimming games. Leon especially liked playing water volleyball, with the net they had over the huge swimming pool.

Leon decided that he could learn to love it here. But during their free time before dinner, when the sun was starting its descent, and the moon was coming to power for a time, he took a run through the woods. He breathed in the scents of the trees around him, and again basked in the light of the moon. All the classes would be fun, except for sword fighting, but he could tolerate that as long as he was able to spend time in his true home, the woods and the moonlight.

That night, while the food was being eaten, Chiron made an important announcement.

"Campers, I know that you are not particularly fond of them, but Lady Artemis is in need on Mount Olympus for a time. So the Huntresses will be staying here for several weeks, and will be participating in the night capture the flag game. Best behavior children."

The groans were deafening, but when he mentioned they would be playing the game with them, the moans turned to cheers and ferocious battle cries. The Ares kids were whooping and letting out their battle chants, and to Leon's surprise, the Aphrodite campers looked like they were ready to fight to the death. Leon was surprised, since they were usually very docile and stayed out of the normal camp activities, preferring to spend time at the lake and tend to each others hygiene.

Leon smiled at the festivities. Something told him he might really like it here…

**There you have it. I would really like to know how you think the game should go with the hunters, as now the camp has a child of Artemis, even if they do not know it. How do you think that Leon's knowledge of hunting and woodsman-ship should affect the course of the game with the hunters? Only one way to inform me…Review please! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Enjoy Chapter eight folks. The Hunters will be introduced soon, and the battle should be the next chapter**.

Leon's days were becoming somewhat standard routine. He would do his recite Greek with Annabeth, try to learn sword fighting, excel more and more in archery, learn to throw javelins, and finally swim. Leon was still confused as to what he was, but some order in his life was more than welcoming.

He managed to learn most of Homer, and was actually pleasantly surprised at how The Iliad was actually a fascinating read. He especially liked his archery class, where he was actually starting to outshoot the instructors in accuracy and firing speed. The head Apollo instructor said that he might as well teach the class, but Leon simply shrugged him off. What kind of teacher spends only a week learning his subject?

He still struggled with sword fighting. Clarisse and her "band of demons" from the Ares cabin still tore into him. Whenever they had a group class, he was paired to fight the best one there. Clarisse said that it would give him more motivation, but Leon did not feel so motivated. She would then tutor him for half an hour after class, attacking aggressively and without let-up. She would force him to the ground, knock the sword out of his hand, or give him cuts all over his body. Then one day, something peculiar happened.

They were about to start his tutoring when he noticed some long hunting knives on the rack behind Clarisse. He finally got the courage to walk away from Clarisse and pick up one of the blades. To his surprise, it felt so natural in his hands. To his dismay, Clarisse spotted him and took the other.

"Well, if you want to try knife fighting, I guess we can try that out. Let's see if you handle knives as badly as you do swords!" Then she attacked.

Leon did not believe what was happening. The knife felt so different then the sword. Lighter, and swifter, and he had no problem countering Clarisse's attacks. She would slash at him, and he would swiftly side-step. She would try to stab at his gut, and he would be able to use his knife to deflect hers. They continued for a time, until Clarisse decided to try something new again.

She handed him the other knife. Both of them had a blade about a foot long. Then she took her sword out again. Leon kind of thought this was going to happen…

She attacked with her sword. Leon blocked with one knife, while slashing out with the other. He managed to give a knick to the ribs before she broke off. She then went berserk, attacking with her sword with the intensity of a hungry lion. And Leon would block and counter her, using one blade to block, with the other to counterattack. Clarisse gasped for air, bleeding slightly from several cuts to her body.

"Well punk," She said in what actually sounded like grudging respect. "You seemed to have found what close range weapon you are actually good with."

Leon felt a surge of power in him. Clarisse actually commented him. He made a move to return the knives. But Clarisse held out a hand and stopped him.

"Just take them. They actually belonged to me anyway."

Leon ginned and left, Clarisse actually smiling slightly as he walked off.

"Who is your parent, punk?" She wondered out loud…

Leon spent another archery period stunning everyone with his skills. He had been here for only a week, and he was easily able to bulls-eye the target from the maximum distance. The instructor just grinned and shook his head.

"I think I have found a replacement archery instructor for when I leave," He said to himself.

During Javelin class, he was still somewhat random. He could hit the target when he focused and had perfect form, but when he was slightly off, he would miss it, or just barely nick it. The instructor was still very understanding, and told him that once he was done with his last class to come over and spend some time practicing javelins.

Swimming was still his second favorite. Percy had taught them how to swim with good skill in such short time. Now they would swim laps in the pool, using various strokes as Percy shouted them, then play water volleyball for the rest of the time. Leon loved to be one of the two hitters, and leap out of the water to spike the ball.

During dinner that night, Chiron motioned for silence. Everyone got quite, as Chiron usually had nothing beyind the normal things to say. But now he looked quite pleased.

"Campers, I have information that may be a very pleasant surprise. I have been lobbied greatly by the Athena cabin, as well as the Ares cabins, to cancel formal classes all next week."

The campers who were not from Athena or Ares looked confused and murmured amongst themselves. Leon looked at Annabeth, and saw that she looked expectant of what Chiron would announce. Clarisse was just grinning, looking quite proud of her.

"In the past, the hunters have beaten us in capture the flag over fifty times. I myself have grown weary of them rubbing it in. So this year, after several petitions, we will spend the next week formulating a plan to defeat the huntresses in capture the flag. Next week, starting on Sunday, we will play the game several times a day, utilizing the strategies that several campers have brought up. I trust this pleases all of you?"

The camp was in an uproar. Campers were cheering loudly as the news sunk in. No classes for the week and nothing but capture the flag. It was campers' dreams come true. Leon smiled and took a long drink. Tomorrow was going to be fun. That is, if he was going to be any good at capture the flag…

The next day, Sunday, the campers began to suit up. But there was more to what Chiron said then simply playing capture the flag. Before explaining the rules, he added one more thing.

"The numbers of the hunters have increased since their last visit. I have been informed that there will be twenty-five of them coming. Therefore, the counselors from each cabin are going to be watching you very close through the next week. When the time comes for the game, they will pick the best two out of every cabin. And then one from the undetermined shall join them. So do your best during these games."

The campers mumbled a bit, but quickly overcame it as they were told to assume their positions. Leon went with blue team, with Annebth and Percy. Annabeth had given him a briefing on how it would work. Simply capture the flag and don't kill anybody. Sure thing…

Leon took a position behind the main attack force. The game would be played with 25 on each team. Each team would enact a battle scenario, with the other team playing the hunters. This was done by the other team being completely Apollo's cabin, along with the best archers in the others. Leon expected to be placed with the team playing the hunters, but the counselor for Apollo wanted him on the attack force. Leon had also not fought the hunters before, and that added to it.

"If you are that good with a bow and arrow, then we want you to have a chance at being picked for the team. We need some good archers to balance out the hunter's advantage. They are some of the best bowmen…bow women…. That I have seen. And I want you to be noticed."

With that, Leon put blue tinted armor on and went with the "Half-Blood" team. When the signal was given, the campers charged forward. This particular strategy involved rushing the hunters with the majority of their forces, leaving only two to guard the flag. The "Half-Blood" team would then rush directly at the hunter's flag position, not stopping to fight unless directly confronted. Grab the flag, and then surround the carrier, and escape in a mass gaggle, keeping the flag bearer covered in an essential human shield.

It didn't work out though. The "Hunter" team managed to ambush them from the trees, and drop down into their midst as they moved forward. The terrain ruined the mass running formation, and it was broken up. In the middle of the fighting, one of the Hermes campers who were part the "Hunters" team managed to grab the flag from the two guards they posted, and cross the creek before the ambushed assault force could even get to the "Hunters" flag.

Chiron sounded the end game horn, and the teams regrouped for debriefing. They listened to Counselors go over mistakes and such, drinking water to ease the heat. Finally, a new plan was formed. The "Hunters" went off to their side. And Percy suggested a different strategy.

This time, the "Half-Blood" Team would go into a type of phalanx. Then they would maintain their formation as much as possible, and overrun any "Hunters" they came across. Then take the flag and fight their way back to the creek. They left five guards this time, putting twenty strong in the assault force.

It worked better this time, but still not quite. The "Hunters" team managed to get wind of their plan through a cleverly hidden scout they placed on the edge of their territory. When the phalanx crossed the creek, Percy shouting cadence, they managed to break up the group by cleverly shooting just away from the face. This psyched out many of the campers, allowing individual "Hunters" to engage a specific camper. The camper was forced to break rank to defend himself, and the phalanx collapsed into another brawl.

This time, they forced their way to the flag and managed to grab it. They were just twenty yards away when a camper from the "Hunters" team managed to cross the creek. Apparently, some of them had hidden in the trees as they passed by, and bypassed the main group, allowing them to engage the guards.

Percy was angry that his strategy had almost won it for them, but Annabeth quickly kissed him on the cheek, and Leon saw Percy blush and quiet down. He stifled a chuckle when the counselors again critiqued the strategy.

Leon thought back to the battle itself. Twice they had tried somewhat standard moves against the "Hunters". And twice it failed. Leon thought for a long moment and then realized something. The Hunters apparently did not fight in the conventional way. No, they were hunters. They fought like a hunter would, ambush and surprise. So why not use the same tools to their own advantage?

The call came up any suggestions from the lower ranked campers, and Leon raised his hand. The counselor, from the Demeter cabin, allowed him to come up and speak. Leon looked at the faces looking at him, and realized that being a Half-Blood apparently did not erase fear of public speaking. But he swallowed and began to speak.

"I think that next time, we should see if we can't thin their ranks just a bit."

That got him a few eyebrows upturned, but the majority seemed interested.

"The Hunters, based on how you guys imitate them and what I have been told, don't fight you like a standard warrior would. They fight you as a hunter would. Twice now, we were beaten by some of them hiding and ambushing us. If they have beaten you for over fifty games, then they know your tactics by now. So maybe it is time to change."

"What are you suggesting?" Annabeth quizzed, but she had a small smile on her face.

"When you hunt something, generally, you let it come to you. You give out inviting scents and calls, and lure the animal to you. So what if we placed about five guards at the flag. That worked good last time, and they won just barely. Then we take another group of five and actually send to figure out the Hunters positioning? And if they can, maybe take a few of them out of the fight. Are we allowed to take prisoners?" He asked

Several people nodded, and grins were getting wider on more than a few of them.

"Then the group that sets out can try to lure some of them in and ambush them. They can do whatever you do to prisoners, and then regroup. This would ensure us at least a few more of us than them, and maybe get better odds for the actual attack force."

He paused to take an intake of breathe.

"Any questions?" he asked, trying to be subtle.

One of the people in the back spoke.

"Are you a child of Athena?" He asked.

Leon just shrugged.

"I don't know. But the father I know was a hunter. And he taught me all I know."

There was silence for a moment, and then Annabeth's voice spoke up.

"Come on guys, let's try it out. That sounds like a plan worthy of Athena!"

The team melted back to the starting position. The horn blew, and the game began…

And it was a success. Leon was in the ambushing squad, and he climbed up a tree, in order to get a better vantage point. He saw several "Hunters" approaching, and gave a signal to the other four hiding below him. When the hunters where right on top of them, he sent an arrow right at the breastplate of one of them. The other two were shocked and tried to spot him, and were more shocked when the campers jumped out of hiding and quickly subdued them.

The group ran back and reported the news. The signal came in, and twenty campers made an "orderly charge" into the "Hunters" territory. The Hunters met them with a standard tactic, but it was not enough to stop all of the campers, with their higher numbers in this engagement. It surged all the way to the flag, and one of the Hermes campers on the "Half-Blood" team managed to grab a hold of it. Then they about faced and fought their way back to their own ground, the "Hunters" trying like hell to get the flag. But with their lower numbers, they could not spare anybody to steal the camper's flag, and the battle surged over the creek. The victory horn blew, and campers shouted in victory.

Leon got a pat on the back from almost everyone there, including the Apollo counselor, who led the "Hunters" team. Most impressed of all was Annabeth, who was shocked that she did not come up with the plan first. Percy made a wisecrack about it, and Annabeth promptly slapped his arm. But even she could not help but smile.

The field was cleared, and the next group of "Half-Bloods" and "Hunters" took their turn to figure out something…

One week later, after constant trial and error playing capture the flag, they were eating dinner when the horn blew. The campers all became silent. Out of the woods walked about two dozen girls, ages ten to about fifteen. They were all glowing slightly, like moonlight, and carried packs and bags. Chiron walked out and spoke a few words with their leader, a girl with spick black hair, and a number of freckles on her face. Chiron seemed to laugh and welcome them in, and the hunters walked off toward the Artemis cabin, glaring at the campers, who readily returned it.

The leader walked toward the fire in the center and sat down, apparently lost in thought. After dinner was adjorned, Annabeth ran right over to the hunteress at the fire. Leon saw her embrace the girl like a sister, and Percy walked over, receiving the same hug from the Huntress. Leon thought it strange, as he was told that the Huntresses detested men. He approached the cabins and managed to get a hold of the conversation.

"Well Thalia, think you will be able to beat us in capture the flag?" Annabeth asked.

The girl named Thailia smiled. Leon could see that she wore a circlet around her head, and was also glowing like her companions. And she had startling blue eyes, like the sky.

"Annabeth, you don't stand a chance. We will rock your world tomorrow."

"I don't know about that Thalia. We have gotten you people figured out. Tomorrow is the day we finally break the streak."

"Bring it on Seaweed brain!" Thalia said with a laugh.

"Your on Pinecone face!" Percy hollered back. The three of them laughed and Leon was too tired to understand more. He trudged back to his cabin, and slipped into his sleeping bag. He was out before he even touched the pillow…

* * *

Artemis smiled as she observed her son through the window portal. She thought him so handsome in the moonlight, like Orion. She felt complacent. She was completely at ease with her son. She ached to stroke his temple through the window portal.

"Very soon, my child. I will show you who your mother is very soon. And I will explain everything," she said before disengaging the portal…

**It took me a while to get my ideas thought through, and I hope everyone is happy with how it went. The next chapter is the battle with the hunters, and the great revelation.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9. Here is the great battle against the hunters. I have gone back and forth in my mind about this, so I hope you will like what you see.

The dawn's light fell upon his sleeping face. He tried valiantly to keep the dream that held him, the dream that held him in such bliss, the dream of the Wolves, so proud and true. The dream about the animal he had come to love and cherish. They were wild and fierce, yet cunning and organized. He slowly opened his eyes to see the glow of the sun in the sky, and smiled at the memory. Shrugging off his pajamas, he quickly dressed, trying to make sure he was clothed sufficiently before anyone awoke to notice. He had always been a early riser.

He put on his jogging clothes and walked outside. He began to run the perimeter of the camp. He loved to run. It was another of his great loves in life. The naturalness of it, the speed, the thrill of running someone down and taking him down in mock play was something he enjoyed deeply. He often ran when he hunted back home, and he had trained himself to do so almost completely silently, disturbing virtually nothing.

As he ran, he thought. Percy told one time during swim class that being in the water allowed him to think completely unmolested. Running was essentially the equivalent for Leon. As he ran, he thought. He thought about the hunts and camping trips he had come with his father on, He thought of the warmth and love his mother…mortal mother…had given him. He still considered her his mother, and by God…Gods…he always would.

And when he ran, he also thought back to lessons previously taught to him. He thought about how to properly understand his rifle, and treat it as well as he would treat himself. _Always take care of your rifle Leon_, his father told him. _And it will take care of you. _

But on this morning's run, a memory came upon him. So powerfully that he actually slowed pace slightly to focus upon it. He saw himself and his father in his workshop, with their stripped down hunting gear around them. And his father was teaching him the proper use of the camouflage suit.

"_This is probably one of the best tools in hunter's arsenal Leon. A hunter's greatest weapon is surprise, ambush. The prey must never know you are there; otherwise it will immediately attempt to flee. You must never let it know your location, and you must not move any muscle more than absolutely necessary. The only movement that should do is to adjust your rifle and squeeze the trigger, nothing more. Surprise is your best ally…"_

He stopped completely and realized what his father now truly meant. His mind went back to the future game against the hunters. He had observed that the campers who had imitated the hunters tactics had used the same techniques that hunters in the wild would use. They were hunters, after all. He did an about face and ran back to his cabin. Some of his cabin-mates were already up and about, and were surprised when he burst in and began to collect his armor.

The counselor approached him.

"Hey Leon, what are you doing? We haven't even had time to eat breakfast yet. Training doesn't start until afterward."

Leon did not heed his words. He simply asked him if they had any type of adhesive material, and possibly paints. The counselor told him to check the storage room in the big house. Leon ran out with his armor in his hands, campers staring at him all the way.

Leon found the paint in the storage room. He selected a mix of green and brown for his choices, and began to paint his armor, adding in a little black along the way. As he set it out to dry, he ran to the woods, and began to collect some of the greener leaves and the occasional grass. He returned to see his armor had suffiecently dried and began to carefully apply a adhesive material he had found to certain areas of his armor, then placing leaves in those parts. He finished a little after breakfast, and placed his armor on the ground next to his sleeping bag. He managed to grab a leftover piece of toast and munched on it until he went for archery and knife fighting practice. He needed to warm up this morning.

At the archery range, he found the hunters taking up half of it. There were occasionally some threats of disembowelment and shooting arrows up places where the sun would never shine, but huntresses and Apollo campers never actually attempted to carry them out. Leon shot expertly again, his position next to the ead instructor, who was not teaching as much as he was working on his own skill. But Leon actually seemed to be out shooting him. He noticed the leader of the huntresses, Thalia, staring hard at him, like she was trying to make something out of him, but Leon quickly decided to leave before trouble started.

He dueled feverously with Annabeth and Clarisse during the knife fighting. Leon had been working on double wielding two blades at once. This allowed him an incredible advantage over those who only wielded one, like Annabeth. Clarisse was a little better, but still could whip him big time in sword fighting.

Finally, the moon began to rise, and the sun began to lower its rays on the world.

Leon approached the assembly for the game dressed in his new "Camouflage amour". This got him a few stares, but many more were laughing well naturedly. Chiron plopped over to him while he was spinning his blades in warm-up.

"Leon, I must say. In all the years at this camp, I never before had seen such a style of armor. You get your brownie points for original thinking tonight," He said with a smile.

The huntresses were prepared for battle as well. Combat boots and jeans clad their lower body, while they were clothed upward in their strange white jackets. They all glowed slightly in the moonlight, and Leon figured that would work against them in the darkness. Their bows were slung over their shoulders, and they each carried short words, except Thalia, who still had her spear.

Chiron explained the rules. The same rules still applied to the flag. Get it across the creek to win. He also stressed safety, as this was a night game and therefore a special circumstance. And then he sent them off.

As the campers left, many of them let out their most ferocious battle cries. They had never been more ready to rumble in their lives, and now they honestly believed that they would win. The huntresses remained silent, but grins appeared on their faces, as they knew that this would end the exact same way, with them teaching the campers a lesson.

Everyone assumed their positions. Leon still found it extremely lucky to be picked for this battle. After breakfast, Chiron had announced the winners from the camp's counselors of who would fight the hunters. Each had picked two from their own cabin, and had a poll to see who would be the single undecided. He was shocked to see that three quarters of the counselors had chosen him as their vote. He and the rest took position. The blitz team leader, Malcolm from the Athena cabin, led out the recon and ambush team. Leon was the squad spotter.

The rest would hold at the edge of the creek until the squad rejoined them and then they would make an ordered double time into the hunter's territory. They would leave a fifth of their number to guard the flag, a kid from Ares in charge of that group. Leon and the squad advanced slowly into hunter territory, listening for any sound that might signal an ambush.

They reached a thick group of trees, and Malcolm gave Leon the signal to climb. Leon climbed the tree with the expert of a chimpanzee, reaching the top with 30 seconds. He took an arrow from his quiver and placed it upon his bow. The rest crouched down in the trees, ready to spring the trap. They remained there for several minutes, before Leon spotted them. A group of four hunters, moving slowly systematically through the trees, came into view.

Leon observed that one would inch forward for a few seconds, then signal to the others. The one in the back would leap-frog past the one in front and perform the same gesture. Leon knew that this would be tricky. The three in the back would be too far from the group for them to effectively neutralize them after he took his shot at the lead, and would be able to swiftly react. But Leon thought for a moment and came to a different conclusion. What if he took out the one in the very back? That would give the campers below him time to rush out while the hunters looked behind them to see what the problem was. It was really there only other option beside retreat.

Leon looked down and mouthed "Get ready" to Malcolm. Malcolm nodded his understanding and braced himself. Leon took aim at the chest of one of the hunters, steadied himself, and let loose. The arrow slammed into the hunter's chest, taking her to the ground. The huntresses in front paused, and by that time Malcolm and the others were on them. They each tackled the three girls to the ground before they could cry out. Quickly disarming them, the herded them into a group, the other hunter forced to join them as well.

One of the campers grinned at them as he leaned in close.

"Bet you didn't see that one coming, little huntress," he sneered.

"You haven't won yet, _boy_."

"oooh that hurt. Why don't you herd yourselves over to the POW area? They will take good care of you there, little girl."

The huntresses glared daggers, but ultimately walked away, muttering to themselves. The group made sure they were gone, and then bolted back to the main group, which was crouched in the shadows of the trees on the other side of the creek. Malcolm reported their success, and the camp leader stood up, sword drawn. The campers followed suit, and drew their weapons at the same time. The leader held up his sword and let out the only loud voice.

"LET'S GET THEM!" He bellowed.

The campers jogged after him, but no battle cries were let loose. Silence was gojng to be maintained in this battle. It had all been discussed beforehand. Leon took a position in the rear, to take shots at the huntresses. The team crossed the hunter's territory and had advanced several hundred yards when the huntresses ambushed the,. Or at least tried to, if the campers had not been moving at a jog instead of a run, they would have been caught off guard. But no this time. The team slowed was able to react to the attack.

Huntresses dropped from the trees, and burst from behind bushes. They would usually come at them with a sword, as the close range wasn't good for bow work. And Leon saw just how personal the two sides were in this fight.

Usually there were rules against unwarranted aggression. But this fight seemed to have been lost to sheer fury. Campers and huntresses hacked at one another, showing absolutely no pity. Huntresses would hack at camper's legs, and campers would bludgeon them with shields. Blood flowed from many a face, and all semblance of order was lost. Leon leaned away from the fray, and fired again and again, hitting hunters in the chests and armored backs. This usually bought a camper a few seconds to make a move and attempt to take down the hunter. But the hunters were doing the same thing, and arrows flew through the night sky. More than one had come within inches of Leon.

"Leon!" He heard the team's leader cry.

He looked over to see him fighting the Hunters leader, that black, spiky haired girl named Thalia. She was using a spear and held a shield with a gorgon's head upon it, and was pressing the team's leader back. But the team's commander, a kid from the Athena cabin like Malcolm, was not giving in. He somehow was able to shout at Leon while holding the girl at bay…but it was clearly not easy.

"Leon…Get back to the flag…tell the guars to come up and help…take over for them..!" He said. Leon understood the command. With four of the hunters already gone, this battle began somewhat outnumbered for them. If Leon brought the guards at the flag with him, then that would tilt the scales and possibly let them fight their way to the hunter's flag.

Leon about-faced, narrowly avoiding an arrow as he did so. He charged back across the woods to the flag guards, who jumped up at his approach. He informed them, of the instruction, and how he was to relieve them. The Ares kid looked pleased as he led them toward the fray. Leon spied a large tree overlooking the flag position, and climbed upon it, concealing himself via the darkness and his camo armor. He was there for a few minutes when he heard a sound and looked up.

A single hunter had incredibly managed to evade the main battle and was slowly approaching the flag. She had her hand on her bowstring, and her eyes were boring toward the flag, as though she was trying to use telekinesis to capture it. She walked slowly toward it, and Leon decided it was time for a marksmanship lesson.

He shouldered his bow, arrow tightly drawn. The huntress still advanced, apparently unaware of his presence. It was just like his prey back home. He aimed at her chest, and let his arrow fly. The arrow struck home, and also pierced her bowstring, as she was holding it across her chest. She took a moment to realize the threat, and dove next to a tree, drawing her sword. She scanned the trees above her, but still could not find him. Leon fired another arrow, this time just above her head, and the huntress finally realized the danger. She bolted back away, trying to avoid the sniper.

Leon ginned in triumph. The sound of battle reached his ears, and he saw bodies through the gloom of the night. They tousled and struggled and one seemed to be clenching a large flag in it's hands. Finally the battle moved close enough for him to see, and he let out a loud whoop from his post. One of the campers held the flag, and he had just enough guards at his back to fight off any hunters. The huntresses still attacked, fighting like never before to claim their flag, but the campers were hell-bent on stopping them.

The flag holder moved closer and closer. He had almost reached the line o victory when he let out a cry of pain, and dropped the flag. Leon saw that an arrow had pierced him in the left buttcheek, just below the length of his armor. Leon reacted on instinct. He threw himself from his perch, and landed like a cat on both feet. He charged forward and took the banner from the wounded camper's hands, and sprinted like hell toward the victory line. Arrows flew past his head and imbedded themselves in the trees around him, but he was determined to let nothing stop him. He literally dived across the victory line, and the horn sounded. The silence around him was deafening. Then the cheers came.

Campers, even the wounded Hermes camper who had had his poor behind shot, huddled around him. Some had tears in their eyes as they practically creamed with joy. Leon was hefted into the air by the campers, almost like a rock star falling into the audience. They jumped and creamed and hollered and cheered, Leon surprised that they didn't go hoarse. But if this was the first time they had won in a huge time, they were going to celebrate this for quite a while.

The counselors swarmed him, and the Aphrodite girls practically seemed to want to make out with him right there. The huntresses still seemed to be in shock, as if the defeat still had not registered. Chiron even seemed lost in jubilation, and the normally very calm centaur did not loose his focus often. Finally they let him down, and Annabeth jumped over.

"That was brilliant fighting Leon!"

Leon simply grinned.

Percy embraced him, and even Clarisse gave him a smile of satisfaction. Coming from Clarisse, that was a huge compliment. The joy continued until a large clap of thunder exploded in the sky above them, and the campers quited. The huntress called Thalia advanced on him, several of her hunters in tow. Thalia looked like she could spit ink, and even Clarisse shuddered slightly.

"How Did you do that!"

Leon was confused

"Do what?"

"The way you fire your bow so good! Not even Apollo's kids shoot that good! The way you move through the woods…No one can do that like us! No one!"

"Hey, I am just doing what I was told to do. I didn't cheat or anything!" Leon snapped back. How dare she imply this!

Thalia looked at him long and hard. Then she whispered dangerously low.

"Who is your parent?"

"I don't know."

"WHO IS YOUR GOD PARENT!?" Thalia screeched.

Leon felt rage bubble up inside him. First he is forced away from his mother because of some weird promise. He is told that she is not his mother, but his real mother is a goddess from the ancient Greek mythology. Then he learns to fight, just so this girl can accuse him of cheating when she was beaten at her own game?

"I SAID I DO NOT KNOW!" He screamed.

Thalia didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were on his chest. Leon noticed that the necklace that he had apparently been found wearing as a baby had been twisted out from behind his armor during the fighting. The crescent moon was glinting in the moonlight, and it's shine seemed intensified now. Thalia looked at it for a second before turning back to Leon.

"That necklace… that necklace belongs to Lady Artemis! She always wore it. She lost it fifteen years ago. She said that it had been destroyed while she was on some quest for several months…HOW DID YOU GET IT!?"

Leon felt his anger rise again.

"My parents said it was around me when they found me! I didn't steal or take anything from anybody! AND I SAID I DON'T KNOW MY REAL MOTHER!"

Thalia wasn't paying attention again. In fact, no one was. They were all looking above him. Leon looked around and saw what they were looking at…

Just above his head had a purple crescent moon appeared. It seemed to burnt into the air, yet gave no scent. Leon had to say that, while strange as hell, it was oddly pretty. It stayed there for several more moments before dissipating. Leon looked back at Thalia, thinking she might have something to do with this. But instead he found her staring in shock at him, like he was some kind of strange creature she had never seen. Everyone around him was staring at him like he was one of the weirdest things they ever saw.

"It's…it's…not possible…"Thalia chocked out.

"What? What is not possible? What is going on here!?" Leon asked

"She is supposed to be a maiden…she couldn't have…" Thaila continued.

Chiron rode up, and placed his hand on Leon's shoulder. He leaned down and spoke much more inviting words then the Thalia.

"Leon…I do not know what this is about…but that symbol was the emblem of your God parent claiming you as theirs. It happens to all of us."

"Then why is everyone staring at me?' Leon asked, his voice turning into a frightened, frantic whisper.

"Because Leon…That is the symbol of the Goddess Artemis. Goddess of the Hunt, the Moon, and the wild. And she is not supposed to have children…"

That was as far as he got. Leon felt fear and rage grip him like never before, and he bolted from the gathering. The campers parted like the red sea, and he ran. Not to the cabins but to the woods. He ran to sanctuary. He heard Annabeth call for him before he got out of hearing range, but he did not hear it. He heard nothing. He heard nothing but the flow of pain that gripped his chest like an iron vise, strangling him, yet his breathe still flowed as he ran. He ran and ran. He did not leave the borders of the camp, as something seemed to keep him here. But by the Gods, he ran virtual laps around it for hours, tears and sad cries of rage ripping from his mouth. Finally he could run no more, and collapsed on the ground under a tall tree.

He tried to cry, but all he could manage was hoarse whimpers. He literally felt too sad to cry, just open his mouth in silent wails as the darkness closed around him. The tightness in his chest strangled any whimpers he could make, and he kept his eyes, still flowing tears on the moon. He needed the moon more than ever. He needed it like a desperate child would need to whimper on his mother's chest as she kept him close, safe from the horros of the world. But his mother…this "Artemis"…was not here.

He did not know how long he was asleep. But he heard something approaching. He looked to see right into the eyes of a large timber wolf. Just like his dreams. The wolves that he had fallen in love with, almost like they were his signature. He was not frightened by this wolf, and the wolf made no move to approach further. TO his amazement however, it began to change…

It glowed an incredibly bright light, and Leon was forced to look away for a moment. When he looked back, he was…well…shocked beyond belief to find a strange girl standing in front of him. She looked familiar somehow…almost like they had met before. And then the memory struck him, and he opened his mouth to speak.

"You…you're that girl that visited me several years ago…who…who are you?" he asked, standing up hastily.

The girl smiled at him. It was a warm and welcoming smile. She took another step closer and gently reached out. She stroked his forehead, Leon shocked too much to stop her. She then looked deeply into his eyes and smiled again.

"Hello Leon. We need to talk."

"Who are you?" Leon asked again.

The girl smiled once again, a knowing smile.

"I am Artemis. Goddess of the hunt and the moon. And I am your mother, Leon…Please, we must talk."


	10. Chapter 10

**Here is chapter 10. Please review and tell me what you think. Reviews make the world go around.**

Dreams are a peculiar thing. You never really know you are dreaming. You can be lying in your bed one moment, and fighting for your life in a world that does not make sense in the next. You can be having fantasies in your dreams, and wake up frustrated that that sexy member of the opposite gender was not just taking their clothes off, and instead you are alone in your room. Or you can dream that you are talking to a long lost relative who may have died, or maybe even your deceased parents. Or parents that you have just met, after being told you were adopted.

That is preciously what Leon was first thinking when this strange girl, whom he had talked to several years ago, changed from a wolf into a girl. And not just any girl, but a girl who looked thirteen years old, who he thought was gorgeous several years ago, and was now claiming that she was the goddess Artemis. And to put the icing on the cake, she was claiming that she was his mother. The same mother who gave him to his "parents" fifteen years ago.

Leon could not help but laugh.

Artemis narrowed her eyes in confusion.

` "Why are you laughing?"

Leon calmed down and faced the "goddess" square in the eye.

"I am laughing because it is just incredible that my "mother", who had not even talked to me in fifteen years, and left me with a random family when I was just a baby, comes back and _now_ she wants to talk. That's just hysterical."

"I am your mother Leon. I know you have had a rough time trying to make sense of what has been happening for several weeks, but I promise that I have come to explain what is going on. If you will just let me-"

"I don't want to hear excuses…_mother_…you left me as a baby. Clearly, you didn't want me."

"I did not have a choice, Leon. I wasn't supposed to have a boy."

Leon stopped feeling angry and felt more confused than ever. She wasn't supposed to have a boy? So she left him because he had been born a male? He felt a surge of anger.

"Are you telling me that I was born a boy, and that was all the reason you needed to leave me!?"

Artemis seemed genuinely hurt by the accusation. She looked at the ground for a second and closed her eyes. Then she looked at Leon with her eyes more determined.

"Sit down Leon. Please let me explain. I didn't want to leave you. I wasn't even supposed to have children. I needed time to explain to the council about you. I didn't want to make them think I had broken my oath, when I never did. I needed to convince them."

"Convince them of what?" Leon demanded his voice cold with pain of the revelations.

"That I did not break my oath. I took an oath thousands of years ago to be a maiden forever. I wasn't supposed to have children. But when the mortals perfected this strange thing called "artificial insemination", I felt that I could have a chance at a child, without breaking the oath I took. But the problem was that some on the council are angry with me, and would never believe that I did not break my oath. On top of that, Leon, My huntresses would never have accepted a boy being my child."

Leon didn't breathe for moment. Then he took a sharp intake of breathe, held it for a moment, then gasped it out.

"So the reason that you left me was because I was born the wrong gender? What was wrong with me being a son, and not the daughter you intended? What, you have issues with men!?" He yelled, not caring about the volume of his voice.

Artemis actually smiled slightly at that.

"Actually, yes. I have always detested men. They are so rude and uncaring…but Leon, when I saw you in my arms, so helpless, I simply could not hate you."

"So when I was born, _mother_, I was the sole exception?" Leon asked. He could not really describe what he was thinking or feeling. It felt like a dream. He could not seem to control the questions and feelings he was feeling. It seemed that they had been repressed for so long a time, that when they were now given the chance, they would not be subdued.

"You are not the only exception Leon, but you are the strongest. Leon, I know that you are angry with me, so angry. And I understand completely. But please give me a chance to prove myself to you. Please understand, there were circumstances even a goddess cannot cope with. I left you to protect you; otherwise I would have found some way to be with you. And don't think I haven't been watching you Leon. I have been there, making sure you were safe. Do you remember that night when you were five, and lost in the woods?"

Leon nodded grimly.

"Who do you think sent the dove to guide you out of the woods? That was me Leon. You cried for me, and I came. Who do you think told you how to shoot, when you foolishly ignored the things your adoptive father told you? Who do you think visited you when you were thirteen, and never told you who she was? It was me Leon. You always were _my_ child. And don't think for a second that I do not love you…I did give you my favorite necklace after all."

Leon took in her words with awe. The deer that guided him out when he was lost and scared. The voice he heard, which allowed him to shoot his quarry with lethal precision. The girl that took his breathe away several years ago, and seemed so impressed with him. It was her? After all the years that he had never truly known who his true mother was, it was her? Artemis, the goddess of the hunt he loved, the moon that comforted him, and the wild that he considered his second home?

Could it truly be that he was her son? She had claimed him after all. She symbolized everything he loved. Could it? Truly? Leon's mind raced as he put all the pieces together into one cataclysmic moment. It did indeed connect. He reached a now trembling hand and stroked the necklace around his neck. The same symbol that had appeared over his head when he was "claimed". He looked up at the moon, which somehow, seemed to have appeared over them and was bathing the two of them in its white glow. And then he looked at his…mother…and opened his mouth to speak. He could not find words and he struggled to say something. Artemis reached out a hand and stroked his cheek, the feeling so…comforting.

"……mother?"

"Yes my son. It is I. I love you my child."

Leon's took a step back, and his legs buckled from under him. He began to fall into the abyss behind him. But his mother moved so fast, and caught him before he fell. He breathed slowly and comforted, warm in his mother's embrace. And she gently ran her hands through his hair and held his head close to her chest. They stayed there for a while before Artemis stood up and gently raised him to his feet.

"I must go. I have to report to Olympus and settle some pressing matters. I am afraid that you may very well have to meet the council on Mount Olympus soon."

Leon was shocked for a moment.

"Why?"

Artemis signed.

"Let's say that some of them are still not convinced. But I promise that I will be watching Leon. You are a child of the hunt and the moon. I am never too far away…goodbye my son."

In a flash of light she was gone, and he was alone in the woods. The silence was broken by the hoots of owls nearby and the distant sound of the beats of the woods. He took a breathe of the night air, and somehow, it seemed to taste and feel so much better. He heard a voice call out in the distance.

"Leon! Where are you?!"

It sounded like Annabeth. He heard Percy call out as well, and began to move in their direction. He moved with the grace of the hunter that he was, and soon he was directly behind them. Annabeth cupped her mouth to call again, and Leon spoke before she could utter her cry.

"Here I am."

Annabeth whirled, startled. Percy jumped as well. They both signed in relief.

"Chiron sent several search groups looking for you. You know that these woods are dangerous? Monsters are usually out here, roaming around."

Leon shrugged.

"I didn't find any. None found me. I guess I am okay. Let's get back to camp. I need to lie down for a while."

Percy and Annabeth didn't reply, but led him back toward the camp. As they entered, they decided to take a long way around the camp, as Leon said he did not want to put up with any stares or other such things until he was better rested. They guided him into the big house after avoiding most of the camp. Chiron was in the break room, and looked up to see Leon enter. He trotted over and laid a fatherly hand on Leon's shoulder.

"Leon, I understand that that was probably very much a shock to you. I have seen countless students claimed, but never before have I seen Artemis claim any. So this is a chock to me as well. But the promise that I made to you still stands, and I will help you in any way I can."

Leon nodded.

"But first, we must settle a somewhat pressing matter. You see Leon, now that you have been claimed, it would be improper for you to sleep in the Hermes cabin, as you now have one of your own. The issue is…well, let's just get you stuff for now."

Chiron led the group to the Hermes cabin. Leon entered and moved toward his sleeping bag on the ground. The campers within the cabin stopped talking when he entered, and just as he knew would happen, began to stare and mutter. But his spirits arose when the Stoll brothers came up to him and Connor laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey man, it doesn't matter to us who your parent is. We've got your back."

Leon gave them a small smile and continued on his way. After making sure his sleeping bag was properly made up, he picked it up and moved outside. Chiron stood with Annabeth and Percy, and all three had somewhat grim expressions on their face.

"Now for the hard part," Chiron grumbled, and the group led Leon to cabin eight. There were dim lights flickering through the windows, and Chiron knocked on the door. One of the hunters opened the door, and saw Leon with his sleeping bag stowed upon his back. Her eyes narrowed and she disappeared for moment. But in a flash, Leon was looking into the electric blue eyes of the hunter lieutenant, Thalia Grace. And she did not seem happy.

"OH, HELL NO!"

**Reviews make everyone feel better. And if you have any ideas, my door is always open.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Keep the reviews coming people, they make my day.**

"_OH, HELL NO_!"

Thalia apparently wasn't having it. Leon could not entirely blame her. A boy living in the cabin of a virgin man-hater? Who would have ever believed it? It was impossible…until about two hours ago when she claimed him. He stood behind Chiron, flanked by Annabeth and Percy. Thalia was barring the door, with several hunters behind her, their bows in their hands.

"I will not allow a boy within Artemis's cabin. I won't!" Thalia firmly stated.

"Thalia, he belongs here," Chiron said, attempting to reason.

"No he doesn't. He is a _boy_."

"Yes he is, and is direct blood of your mistress. Now stand aside Thalia. He needs to be in his cabin."

"No…"

Leon thought that this was just getting outright silly. Seriously, he didn't ask to be the son of a virgin goddess and not suppose to have been. But that was that. The past can not be changed, as much as they wished so. So why could they just accept that their matron goddess had a son, and get over it. And why in Hades could he not get into his new cabin and get some shut eye? Because some pessimistic girls didn't want him in there?

"Thalia, this is silly. Let him enter. I am really getting tired of this argument," Chiron said, and this time he sounded like he really meant it. His voice was dangerously low.

Thalia took a deep breathe.

"No."

_"THALIA GRACE, YOU WILL ALLOW HIM TO ENTER HIS CABIN, AS IS HIS RIGHT! YOU ARE ONLY THERE BECAUSE ARTEMIS ALLOWS YOU TO BE SO. IT IS HIS CABIN, NOT YOURS!"_

Leon almost could feel like a tornado had come into the camp. The annoyed anger in Chiron's voice was clear as crystal, and Percy and Annabeth jumped at the volume of his voice. Leon made a point from then on never to get on Chiron's bad side. From the way Chiron was carrying on, and seeing the muscles tense in his body, made him seem far more lethal and dangerous than he usually is. Chiron had a very gentle soul, but apparently he did not "take crap" very well at all.

If Annabeth and Percy were startled at Chiron's anger, then Thalia was utterly blown away. She recoiled from the intensity of the yelling, and the hunters behind her staggered back as well. Huntresses who had been lounging on their bunks, watching the argument, now stood up, and also seemed very shocked at the outburst.

Chiron calmed down, and his muscles softened. He then looked at Thalia and said again, in a much more calm and reasonable tone…

"Thalia, I know that you think that it is a defilement…but he is a son of Artemis. It truly is his cabin, and it belongs to him, due to his bloodline. Now please, before I have to get angry with you again, let him enter."

Thalia blinked several times, before she finally stepped aside.

"All right. Come on in…"

Leon glanced at the two half-bloods flanking him, who both nodded their understanding. He then slowly stepped forward, into the cabin. Thalia didn't look at him, but the Hunters gave him an all new definition of the phrase "if looks could kill". He looked around for an empty bunk, but saw none. He did not show any sign of disappointment, especially in front of these asshole huntresses. Yes, they were being assholes. _Call them as you see them_, Leon thought.

Chiron nodded his confirmation of the events in front of him, and then turned to Thalia.

"I am very disappointed in you Thalia. Artemis herself understands that we allow her huntresses here as a courtesy. If I have to report any further transgressions, I don't know how to tell her that we may not allow you to stay."

"I understand Chiron. Please don't inform her of my conduct. I apologize sincerely," She said, though she kept her eyes on the ground.

"If anyone of your huntresses attempt to harm or do anything of the sort to Leon, then I will be forced to do so," He said. Then he poked his head in and winked at Leon.

"But seeing as how it was he who came up with a plan to defeat you tonight, then I would not think of trying to attack him. He has shown his prowess tonight, that is for sure."

Thalia finally looked up at Chiron in silent shock for a moment. Then turned to bore her eyes into Leon, and he thought that he saw something he could not describe in her eyes. Just for a moment.

"That he did."

Chiron nodded and removed his head. The door closed behind him, and Leon was left alone with 25 hostile and probably very pissed off huntresses. And now was the first time he debated drawing his knives out of self defense. The looks on some of the huntresses' faces were sending warning alarms right to his brain. Thalia approached him, and he immediately assumed a fighting stance, his hands on his knives, which were holstered with one on each hip.

Thalia stopped and raised her hand in what seemed a gesture of peace. She lowered it and approached Leon. She approached slowly, but confidently. She stopped when she was a few feet away, and Leon relaxed slightly…very slightly.

"You don't need to be afraid. I give you my word that none of us are going to slit your throat in the middle of the night. Or smother you with a pillow. Or even give you a blanket party. If you are Artemis child then you have nothing to fear from us."

Leon scoffed his disbelief. First they were trying like hell to make sure he did not enter his new home. Now they were trying to make peace with him. From what he saw of these huntresses, they did not seem the "Peace" type. He removed his hands from the handles of his knives, but kept them crossed over his chest, ready to spring into action if necessary. The Huntresses around him still looked like they were about to jump him.

"Leon, that is your name right?"

Leon nodded, refusing to speak just yet. This girl really got on his nerves with her whole charade at the door.

Thalia signed and looked down for a moment. Then she looked at him in the eyes.

"I didn't know what to think. Honestly, I just could not believe what I saw when our mistress claimed you. She wasn't supposed to have children, and when I saw her symbol on top of your head, I had just thought it was a trick of the mind. You just couldn't be a child of Artemis. But when I thought more about it and came to terms with what happened, I simply…" She trailed off.

"Yeah, whatever. If you don't mind, I am going to get some sleep," Leon said. He did not care if his voice sounded cold. But this girl had seriously pissed him off. And he was not going to forgive it easily. He glared at the huntresses around him, mentally daring each one to make a move. They glared right back, but otherwise did nothing. Leon crawled into his sleeping bag and stared at the ceiling, paying no attention to the huntresses as they attended some last minute business. The light s eventually went out, and Leon slowly drifted off to sleep.

The dawn came, and sadly, Leon did not have a dream of wolves or of hunting. He leaned up and yawned softly. The huntresses were still mostly asleep, and he carefully dressed and walked out, making sure that he stepped on no one. He took a deep breathe of the morning air, and savored the wetness of it.

He walked to the archery range, where the bows were kept. Taking one and some ammunition, he placed a target in the maximum distance allowed. He began to take his shots, making almost casual ease of it. Not one arrow missed its designated body part. He kept firing until he had an arrow on each major part of the body. He was walking toward the target when a girl voice spoke up.

"Well, I can see you really have our lady's blood in you."

Leon whirled to see Thalia standing behind him. He never heard her coming, despite the sixth sense he seemed to have. He forgot that huntresses could move so silently. She was standing with her arms across her chest, and was watching him as he had taken his shots. And her expression showed that she seemed truly impressed.

"It just goes to show that you very well are a child of Artemis. Not even Apollo's kids could shoot that good."

"Is that so?" Leon asked his voice bitter with resentment.

Thalia signed and uncrossed her arms. She approached Leon and made eye contact when she was within a few feet.

"Leon, I am sorry about how I reacted last night. I honestly could not believe it. But I now accept you. You are a genuine child of Artemis, however impossible it once seemed to me. And I hope you will forgive us for being suspicious. Please Leon, the huntresses find this hard to believe, even when we saw the symbol above you."

Leon examined her closely, the hunter in him observing her body language. She did not seem to be showing any sing of lying. She had a sincere look in her eyes. And she even had a slight smile on her lips as she observed him back.

She actually was kind of cute when she wasn't angry…

Leon nodded and extended his hand. She was shocked for a moment, and then grasped his with a firm grip. She smiled a little wider, and Leon actually allowed his own to show. She released him, and Leon removed his own.

The bell announcing wake up rang out, and the camp gradually came to life. Cabin doors opened, and sleepy campers came out, yawning and stretching, then began to gradually file to the breakfast table. Thalia looked back at her cabin, and the lights came back on. She turned back to Leon, and jerked her head in the cabin's direction.

"Come on Leon. Let's get something to eat."

**Sorry if this chapter is a little short, but I was running out of time. Please Review, as it makes the sun shine brighter and the day seem better. If you have any ideas about how the "meeting the gods" should go, then please let me know.**


	12. Chapter 12

So Thalia Grace, the great lieutenant of the hunters, accepted him. Well, it was a start. Leon walked to breakfast while Thalia went to rouse the hunters. He was eating when they arrived. The campers all hollered and jeered as they walked in, but the hunters bit their tongues and began to eat. Only Thalia sat near Leon, and Leon was perfectly fine with that. If the rest of the hunters decided to be pricks, then let them rot.

Leon ate in silence, trying to avoid the looks he was getting from everyone. He knew that he was supposed to be one of a kind, but did that seriously give people the right to stare? Manners still counted for something, right? He finished eating and quickly left the dining area. He took his bow and some arrows and ventured out into the woods.

Oh, how he missed that feeling. He ran through the woods with reckless abandon, loving every second of freedom that he had just gained. He took deep; almost gasping breathes of the woodland air, and filled his nostrils with its scent. His hands were on the bow and he scanned for anything worth hunting. Finding none at the moment, he quickly proceeded onward.

Leon ran forward until he heard large, powerful footsteps. He approached the sound very carefully, making sure that he disturbed nether rock, nor stone. He smelled something that reeked of cow, and he had to scrunch his nose to continue. He crouched when he heard it was close, and then looked from behind the large tree to see the weirdest creature he ever saw.

It was sorting through a pile of old animal carcasses, its huge hand plucking them of rotten meat. Its head was that of a sharp-toothed, evil eyed bull, and its body was human-like. It was a t least a dozen feet tall, and had hue horns growing on both sides of its head. Leon thought for a moment, and came to a sudden chock.

_Minotaur…_

Leon was seeing an actual, breathing mythological creature standing in front of him. He placed his hand on an arrow and placed it across his bow. He raised it slightly and observed the Minotaur. It still had not noticed him. He raised his bow to fire…

_Wait a moment? What was he thinking!?_

Leon shook his head. What was that? This creature was something he probably should not face alone. Those claws looked like they could rend steel. He lowered his bow slightly and tried to fight the urge to fire. Something in him was screaming at him to take a shot, to hunt and kill the Minotaur. The urge to fire grew within him again, and Leon tried to suppress it, but he couldn't. His body seemed to react on it's own as he raised his bow and took careful aim. If he was going to kill this thing, he needed to hit it right in a vital organ. He was only going to get one shot…

He fired. The arrow hit the creature right in the chest. Leon was sure he had struck its heart. Nothing on this Earth could survive a direct hit to the heart.

Holding that belief, Leon was shocked to find the Minotaur charging toward him. He managed to roll away from it in the nick of time. The Minotaur slammed into a tree and shook itself from its temporary stupor. It roared and charged again, despite Leon firing a second arrow right next to the first. Absolutely no effect. Leon was forced to jump out of the way, and again, barley got away.

Leon had shot this thing I the heart twice now, and it would not die? Why? He had no time to think, as the creature charged him again. This time, Leon managed to jump and land on a low branch of a tree before the creature reached him. Before he could find out how he suddenly jumped that high, the creature rammed into the tree, and frantically began to claw its way out.

Leon did not hesitate. If arrows would not work, he would have to try something else. A true hunter did not give up. A true hunter did not become overthrown by obstacles. A true hunter overcame them. And if arrows would not kill it, the Leon would get personal.

Leon drew his knives and jumped off the tree, right onto the Minotaur's shoulders. As he landed, he cut off the two horns from his head, his blades cutting through them as he fell. Unfortunately, that freed the Minotaur, and he began to buck and run around, forcing Leon to ride him in the rodeo of his life. Leon held on until he felt he could no longer, than jumped off when the Minotaur slacked off slightly.

He landed next to one of the horns and realized that he had dropped his knives when he held on for dear life. But those horns were mighty sharp, and the thought was processed in Leon's mind in less than a second. He grabbed the horn just as the Minotaur charged him. He charged at the Minotaur as well. Probably not the smartest idea, but Leon was full of battle fury that he was not thinking at the moment.

When they connected, the Minotaur drove him a good 30 feet away into a tree. Leon felt the air burst out of him as he slammed into the tree, and fell to the ground, trying to force air into him. His mid-section burned as he found that he apparently broke several ribs. But the Minotaur was not so lucky, as one of his horns was in his stomach. He had forced himself on it when he slammed into Leon.

The creature let out a death howl that echoed across the woods, then fell. But he left no corpse. Instead he disappeared in a golden shower, vanishing without a trace. Leon gasped again as the pain of his mid-section and hurt back sent fire through his body. He gasped in air and forced it out, his vision red from pain. He slowly felt himself losing conciseness, and heard a voice call his name. But he was long gone before help came…

Leon awoke in the infirmary, surrounded by Percy, Annabeth, Chiron, Grover, Thalia, and several hunters. An Apollo camper was spoon feeding him ambrosia, and he felt his wounds gradually beginning to heal. He could arch his back without pain, and could breathe without the pain of his ribs.

Thalia had a smirk on her face, and the hunters behind her were surprisingly concerned. Percy had a grin and Annabeth was just shaking her head. Grover had a goofy smile on and Chiron smiled warmly. They all began to talk at once.

"That was not real smart to attack the Minotaur without help, but it was a nice kill," Thalia said

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Percy said.

"Welcome back," Grover said

"I am just glad your okay. You were pretty hurt when we found you," Annabeth said.

"Leon I hope you learned your lesson. You do not go into the woods alone, and especially initiate combat with a monster without help," Chiron lectured.

Leon nodded his understanding. He got up and was happy to see that the ambrosia worked. He could move unaided. He left the infirmary, followed by the group behind him. As he approached his cabin, Thalia caught up with him.

"There is a present from Artemis on your sleeping bag. You might want to open it."

Leon glanced at her for a moment, and then entered. The huntresses looked up from their various activities and stared at him. And to his shock, some gave him small smiles as he passed. But his attention was on the package lying on his sleeping bag. He kneeled down and opened the case.

Inside was a bow of pure silver. It was beautiful and looked like it had been carved from an expert. He picked it up and it felt like it had been made for his hands, so smooth and flawless. He saw a note inside and picked it up, noticing the flawless handwriting.

"You have proven your worth for now my son. This bow is a copy of my own, and I feel that it is only proper for one of my blood to have one as well."

Leon smiled and Thalia clapped him on the back. This day was turning out very well.

If only that was going to last…


	13. Chapter 13

**Howdy folks! Here is chapter 13. I implore you to review as you finish reading. Reviews are what makes the water flow bue and the sun shine bright.**

The first thing Leon did was go to the range with his new toy. Several of the hunters followed him, anxious to see the power of his mother's gift. He reached the range with several of the hunters just behind him, some of them summoning their own weapons as well. Leon filled his quiver and took position, readying himself. He placed an arrow on the string and pulled back, marveling at how it so easily stretched. Then let loose.

If Leon could hit a human shaped target in the head with a standard bow, then with this one, he could hit it right in the eye. The shot went exactly were he had aimed it, directly at the right eye, and the arrow struck true. Several hunters behind him had their jaws drop slightly in amazement, and Thalia whistled, clearly impressed. She took position next to him and aimed at her own target. She took a deep breathe and fired, and the arrow struck the target next to the eye. Just next to it…

"Close one," Leon said, grinning. He just couldn't help but rub it in slightly.

"Shut up," Thailia said, but she had a slight grin on her face.

Several hunters began to fire as well, and they were expert shots as always. But whenever Leon fired with this new bow, it was like he could not miss. Every shot seemed to home in on it's target, like it was guided by hand to its place. Several hunters clearly showed that they did not like a boy outdoing them at their own sport, but for the most part, they were actually looking like they were enjoying this.

It wasn't long before Percy walked over, wanting to see this new bow of Leon's first-hand. Annabeth came over as well, admiring it as she examined it. A couple of Apollo campers came over and a little grudge match began between the Apollo campers and the hunters. Arrows fired freely across the range and Apollonian and Hunter fired at their targets with incredible determination, determined as hell to outshoot each other. When the arrows finally ran out of their quivers, the Hunters had again won, but just barely. Leon knew that the Apollo campers would definitely be practicing harder than ever as of now.

As Leon was walking back to the cabin to stow his new weapon, Aphrodite campers walked over. Their counselor, a beauty named Liana, was holding a glass of strange new liquid that Leon had never seen. Leon stopped and allowed them to approach, with Liana in the lead with the cup.

"Hey there, Leon. Nice shooting out there," she said with a smile.

"Um…thanks"

"Well, you look really thirsty and I happened to be making some drinks for everyone back at the dining pavilion, so I decided you could use a shot of my special stuff."

Leon raised an eyebrow.

"Special stuff?"

Liana blushed and gave him the cup.

"GO ahead Leon. I promise it is nothing that's going to kill you. Please just try it?" She asked, putting on a puppy dog face.

Leon did not want to offend anyone, especially with his mood so good right now. So he decided to humor her. He raised the glass to his lips and began to drink.

The liquid was some of the most…best…and strange he had ever drunk. It tasted of cherries, which he loved, and was very sweet with the flavor explosion. He gulped it down and lowered the glass, contemplating it. _Man that is good_, he thought. He handed it back to Liana, who had an expectant look on her face.

"Well?"

"That was very good Leona, what was it?" He asked.

Leon did not reply. She kept looking at him like she was expecting a response of something different. She kept pushing her hair back over her shoulders and flaunting her eyes. Leon watched her with curiosity, as he really did not know what to think. He gave her a "what?" look and she finally looked slightly angry.

"You don't feel attracted?" She asked, frustration appearing in her voice.

"Attracted? All I asked was what was in the drink."

Liana then glared like a cobra. She narrowed her eyes, looking almost reptilian in her gaze. Several of her friends, who had been grinning seductively at him seconds earlier, now were scowling and almost snarling in anger. Leon almost backed up a step, anticipating an attack. What had he done?

"Wha…?"

"So it is true! You are just as unloving as your mother! That was a love potion you Artemis dimwit! It was suppose to make you attracted to any female you looked at for a week! It would have shown us that you are not as unloving as your little hunting bitch of a mother!"

Leon stepped back from the outburst. He actually placed his hands on his knives handles, ready to draw them. This was quickly becoming ugly, very ugly. The Aphrodite campers took a step closer, and that was when Thalia and four other hunters…appeared out of thin air, it seemed…and were next to Leon, their hands holding their hunting knives.

Liana snarled in rage, and drew the sword sheathed at her hip. She lunged at Thaila, who easily parried and gave her a kick right to the chest, sending her back several feet into the arms of one of her sisters, several of who lunged at the hunters, who readily lunged forward and met their attack. Leon was in the middle of a full out girl fight!

Leon had his knives ready for any Aphrodite camper who attacked, and jumped backward, out of the middle of the brawl. Campers from other cabins came and made a circle around the fighting girls, actually laughing. One could not blame them, as the screeches, grunts, and yelps coming from the pile of fighting girls were actually kind of funny. But Leon sure as hell was not thinking of that at the time!

The fight was only broken up when Chiron and Argus came up with furious shouts and dived into the pile. Leon could see that many of the hunters and Aphrodite campers had actually ditched their weapons and gotten personal with each other, fighting with fist and nail, tooth and hair pulling.

Chiron managed to finally break it up, and Thalia and Liana were being held back by his arms, still trying to get at one another. Leon was not affected by the fact that Liana actually had her shirt torn and half of her Victoria's secret Bombshell bra showing. But he did notice that none of the other guys watching the fight were unaffected. Quiet hoots and catcalls sounded, but were silenced when Chiron glared with the fury of a thousand suns.

"Both of you are to go back to your cabins and are not to come out until dinner tonight. And you Thaila, I want an explanation!"

Thalia did not have her clothes somewhat torn as did Liana, but her hair was ravaged and her lieutenant tiara was crooked on her forehead. She panted and her face was red with exertion. The hunters behind her where somewhat the same way, with several actually bleeding from scratches and bite wounds. But she continued to glare death incarnate at Liana.

"Liana was about to attack Leon. We were obligated to defend him!"

Chiron turned to Liana, who was covering the half of her bra that was showing, much to the dismay of the now even larger group of guys surrounding them. Several female campers, including Annabeth, were now on the scene, and Annabeth seemed to make sure Percy did not even think of trying to look.

Liana did not reply. She was glaring right back at Thalia, and glancing with pure fiery hatred at Leon, who was standing there, watching the scene with his knives in his hands. He still expected an attack from one of the girls. _Gods, why are girls, especially Aphrodite girls, so passionate about these things, _he thought.

Chiron could see that this was getting nowhere, and ordered the two groups away, making sure to include Leon in the order to return to the cabins. He also made sure that the campers around them heard, and no one even made a move to follow Liana and her sisters back to their cabin. Thalia and the hunters looked at Leon, who gave them a nod and told them he would follow in a bit. They began to walk back to their cabin, with several of them tending to their injuries.

Leon began to walk back with Annabeth following him. She was curious as to know why the Aphrodite campers would act so aggressively.

"Usually, their pretty passive."

"Well, they gave me something to drink. I drank it and they said it was love potion. They got angry when I did not react to any of them, and attacked when Thalia came over."

Annabeth thought for a second. Then she started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing much, just seeing Thalia kicking that girl's ass was enough."

Leon laughed with her.

"Did you feel anything when you took that potion? Any "urges"?" Annabeth asked

"None. I don't know why, but the only thing I thought was that it tasted really good. Any thoughts as to why I wasn't affected?"

Annabeth shrugged.

"Maybe since Artemis has low opinions on love, as her child, you can't have it forced on you. That might essentially make you immune to any love magic from Aphrodite's children."

Leon nodded his understanding. But did that mean he did not feel love?

Annabeth said her goodbye's and promised that they would all catch up and have some fun after dinner. Leon entered to find the Hunters who had been in the fight being tended to by their comrades, and furious speech and vows to "rip those hunters apart" were rampant. They quieted when Leon entered, and Leon met their gaze evenly, knowing exactly what to say.

"I don't want to complicate things with a great thank you speech, so I'll be blunt…Thanks."

The hunters looked at him for a second, and then some of them actually smiled.

Thalia strode up, her headdress righted and her clothes rearranged. She put her hand on Leon's shoulder and looked into his eyes, Leon once again marveling at the sky blue in them. It was really…well, he just really liked them.

"If you are a child of our mistress, then that makes you one of us, however indirectly. And that means that when Aphrodite campers try something, we're there for you."

Leon smiled and nodded. He walked back to his sleeping area, receiving several warm grips from several hunters, who apparently had finally warmed up to him. He stowed his bow away and began to clean his armor, making sure he left any camouflage paint alone so he wouldn't have to reapply it next game.

He lay down and began to go down memory lane. As he sorted through memories of his father and mother, a thought struck him. If these were Aphrodite girls, and apparently hated anything related to Artemis, why would his "mother" be a daughter of Aphrodite? If they hated anything that dismissed love as much as Artemis, why would she have loved him so? The thought disturbed him, but he refused to let it shrink his opinion of his "mother". Who cared who her parent was, if she proved her maternal love for him?

The bell for dinner sounded, and the hunters, plus one boy, sat at the table of Artemis. Leon was glad to see that many of the hunters were not shrinking away from him now, and were actually socializing with him. They were still reserved with him, but he had managed to get the names of some of them. He especially liked Julia, who was one of the first to come to his aide against the Aphrodite girls. Despite looking like a fifteen year old, she was about five hundred years old.

The Aphrodite cabin was glaring at them like they expected death rays to shoot out of their eyes and fry the whole table. But Thalia and the hunters were glaring right back, and it looked like a mental equivalent of the fight earlier was raging. Leon was wolfing down food, not caring at all about what the Aphrodite girls were doing.

They continued to eat. Leon saw a man approach Chiron at the staff table, and whisper something in his ear. Several campers noticed him and gave him small bows of their heads. He nodded back and vanished out of thin air. Leon was startled at first, but was even more so when Chiron trotted over to him and leaned down.

"Leon, after dinner, meet me in the big house. There is a…meeting you need to attend."

"Meeting?"

"Yes Leon. Some guests are coming and they want to see you."

Leon told him he understood and would report to the big house after dinner. He glanced at Annabeth, who had seen the man as well, and was glancing nervously at him, like she knew something was going to happen and whether she should tell him or not. But Leon decided not to worry, as whatever happened, happened. His "father" had always taught him that.

He told Thalia of the situation and she informed him that they would wait at the cabin for his return. Once the bell for dinner to end sounded, various campers went off to their after dinner actrivites, but Leon walked over to the big house and walked in. Chiron was waiting in the entry hall, and walked him to a large door.

"What's behind there?" Leon asked, nervousness rising in his chest.

"You will see Leon. Our guests are already settled within, and they have to discuss something involving you. I am sorry, but I cannot attend. I promise that you will be alright though. I will wait outside the door."

Leon nodded, but his heart was not so sure of his readiness. However, he would not show fear in front of Chiron, and opened the door and strode as boldly as he could into the room. It was like a large meeting room, with chairs all around a large rectangular table.

He did not look within until he closed the door and turned to see who awaited him. The shock was inevitably showing on his face and he froze where he was, seeing what he did.

There were a dozen people sitting at the table. All seemed to radiate power beyond imagining. And at the end of the table facing him was an empty seat. And next to it on the left was a girl about 12 years old, yet radiating the same force as everyone else. But she had a smile on her face that the others did not.

"Come sit my son. We have something we need to discuss with you." Artemis said.


	14. Chapter 14

**Howdy, Folks. Sorry this has taken a while to get to, as I had a lot of things happening at once. And I am going on vacation for a while to California. But I made a point of getting another chapter in before I left, and so here is chapter 14. **

Leon stood in the entryway, literally to shocked to move. In front of him sat the Gods of Olympus, Gods that he was just made aware of weeks ago. His Mother, the Goddess Artemis, sat next to the one open seat at the head of the table, with Lord Zeus occupying the seat across the table facing him from the opposite direction.

Artemis waited for him a moment longer, then finally waved him a second time to sit in the open seat next to her. In front of her, on the seat's left side sat what looked like a seventeen year boy, though he was radiating light like the sun. He was almost hard to look at, and Leon had to squint slightly to get a good visual of him. But he had a friendly smile on his face as Leon approached the table. He very slowly approached, but approach he did, even if it was a terrifying method o which he moved.

Leon slowly sank into the open seat and was met by the gaze of twelve Gods. Twelve forces of varying nature looked at him. Several had smiles on their faces and looked quite pleased to meet him. Others did not look so happy. Several, a breathtaking woman in a revealing gown, and another woman sitting next to lord Zeus were glaring at hi as if they expected fire to burst from their eyes and fry the frightened youngster. And with them being Gods, Leon had no doubt that was possible.

Seeing his expression, the God to his left smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Come on, little nephew. We don't bite...well most of us don't."

"Sure we don't," a huge, mountain of muscles sitting a few seats back said.

"I am Apollo. God of the sun, music, medicine, and archery. And pretty much all around, mind-blowing awesomeness," the God said on his left, still holding Leon's shoulder.

Zeus cleared his throat. The Gods stopped muttering amongst themselves and faced him. Zeus in turn stood up in his seat and faced Leon square in the eye.

"Do you know who I am?"

"You are...Lord Zeus, sir."

Zeus gave a satisfied nod.

"Do you know why this meeting has been called here at this camp, and you especially have been selected to attend?"

Leon nodded.

Zeus sat down, then made an anouncment to anyone who wished to speak to say their piece.

"I have something to say!"

The woman sitting next to him stood up. She was a brunette with exepctional beauty about her, and looked like she was a very educated woman. Or at least, God.

"Who is that?" Leon whispered to his mother.

"Hera. Goddess of Marriage and Family. She has had it in for me, and I am afraid my son, that my revealing you has just made it worse."

"Why?"

He did not get a chance to get a reply, as Hera began to speak to the Gods around her.

"Artemis has claimed this boy as her son. That much I am convinced. However, I feel that by the method of his conception, without the intervention of a man, tat she has violated the sacred bond of family. Therefore, I declare that this child is a mistake that must be corrected. I vote to destroy him immediately."

Leon flinched. What! They were voting on what to do to him . It was not his fault that his mother gave birth to him from means other than the norm! Is this what Hera had against him? His mother?

Both Artemis and his uncle Apollo tensed in their seats. He always felt comfortable with Artemis near him, at least on the few occasions she had been. And now he felt the same waves of affection coming off of this "Apollo". But the force that Hera was generating was generating was astounding, and Leon was overwhelmed with dread. His mother put her hand on his shoulder and sent soothing waves through his body. He managed to calm down physically, but he was mentally screaming.

Hera sat down and smiled as she watched his reaction, as if she was satisfied that he was sweating and fearful in his seat. Simply put, she was being a bitch...

Then another girl stood up. She was even more beautiful than Hera, and had a flawless arua about her that made the other Gods look pitiful by comparison. But Leon was getting waves of anger strong enough to make the Terminator realize that it does indeed know fear. She glared at Leon like he was a thief who had just stolen her favorite toy or fashion item. As she spoke, she was quaking with angber.

"I, Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, Beauty, and sexuality, declare this boy to be a disgrace to Love. He resisted my daughters attempts to introduce him to love, and even was abke to resist them when they attempted to talk some sense into him-"

"_Talk sense into him!_ They tried to outright kill him!" His mother screeched. "Your daughters were trying to make him feel emotions that are not part of his genetics. And then they tried to kill him when they found out they had o power over him. Your lucky Chiron found out about it and stopped the fight early, for if he did not, then my hunters would have utterly annihilated your beloved children!"

"You think your little hunters would have stood a chance against the power of love? HA! You are just like the twelve year old you choose to impersonate, little Artemis."

His mother's bow formed in her hand, and she was reaching for an arrow when Zeus yelled at the two to stop and Aphrodite to finish her original train of speech. Aphrodite smirked at Artemis, then continued.

"As I was about to say before the toddler here interrupted, this boy was created without the natural order of things. As Lady Hera said, there was no man involved, and so no family. And I to feel like there was something missing, as Artemis should have found a man to love and have him give her her child. Because she skipped an important part of that process, the child is null and void and must be immediately cast into Hades like the garbage that he is!"

Zeus nodded and allowed Artemis to stand. His mother seemed so small in her twelve year old body, compared to the mature looking Gods and even Leon. But when she spoke, Leon did not thin of anything more beautiful in his life than the voice of his Olympian mother.

"Who are you to say what I must or mustn't do. I have not disobeyed any laws. The violations of the natural order of things is of your own personal opinions. I have not lain with a man, nor will I ever do so. I swore on the River Styx that this would not come to pass. And I have kept my promise. But where does that not say that I can not have the joy of children of my own. Children to watch over and give my love as a mother should, as you each do for your own children in your own ways. I did not violate any laws of favoritism. I have only done what each of you does every day, with your own children. Why you bicker if he is my child is not is unnecessary. I have accepted him as my child by blood, and that should be enough for any of you. I have watched over him from afar and kept him safe when I must. As I said, that is nothing that you have not done for your own children. It is bluntly hypocritical to say my child must die, when your children thrive. Purely hypocritical. That is all I have to say, and I will not reply to anything you say in return."

Artemis sat down again and reached under the table. She squeezed the hand of Leon, and he squeezed hers back. Something in the way she held him reminded him of a mother holding the hand of her young one when doing something that frightens him, telling him that she will be right there all the time. He looked over at her and met her eyes. Those moon-like eyes, and the light of them washed over him. She smiled at him and he could not help but to smile back.

Apollo stood up and his speech was much shorter, but it was blunt.

"I support my sister's words completely. And I will defend my cousin like he is my own child. He is kinda of my blood as well when you think about it."

Apollo sat down and gave a small grin to Leon.

Then the woman sitting next to Zeus, across from Hera stood up. She was in a flowing gown and was beautiful like the other goddesses around. But there was a power from her that was unlike even that of Hera. And when she looked at Leon, he instantly knew who she was. Athena, Goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. She examined each God in turn,and even Artemis shuddered slightly under her gaze. But Leon received a jolt through his system, not unpleasant, but not comfortable.

"I have reviewed the evidence among your talks and sayings. I have reached what I feel might be a credible solution to our current dilemma. Leon has shown skill somewhat compatible with the Goddess Artemis in his slaying of the rouge minotaur. I therefore propose that we offer him, not wuite a quest of sorts, but a kind of test."

"Test?" Leon asked out loud. Athena turned and fixed her gaze upon him.

"Yes young one, a test. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and the moon. Therefore, in order to prove yourself a child of her blood and worthy of remaining alive, given the circumstances, you must prove your worth. I suggest that he be sent on a test of his hunting abilities. We send him on a hunt for the most dangerous creatures of our world. He may take several companions, but the actual act of hunting and fighting each monster must be of his own prowess. If he successfully slays these monsters, then we shall pronounce him worthy of his mother and allow him to remain unmolested by us any further. And if he should fail...then we hope his soul reaches Elysium."

There was a silence so deafening, that Leon thought he had truly lost his hearing. All he could hear was the silent beating of his heart, and the breathing of the Gods around him. If they needed to breathe or not did not even enter his curious mind, given the possible task that the Goddess of wisdom had just lay before him.

Finally Zeus stood up and addressed the gathered deities.

"I have debated this within my mind, and I believe that it is sufficient. However, I shall hold this to a vote. All in favor of allowing this boy to attempt this test of skill and ability, raise your hand.

To Leon's utter gratefulness, Most of the Gods raised their hands. Aphrodite and Hera simply glared further, only now they seemed to be volcanoes ready to burst, and lighting cackled above them.

"Then I declare this meeting adjourned. Leon, you may go now and prepare for your test. Gather your weapons and pick your companions. You leave in two days time, from tomorrow."

Leon slowly trudged out of his seat and walked to the door, his mother directly behind him, while the other Gods continued to ramble amongst themselves. Aphrodite was not finished.

"Artemis, if your hunters ever hurt any of my daughters again, then I swear that they will not survive to see the moon again!"

Artemis whirled.

"If your children ever endanger my son or any of my hunters again, then my hunters will render your children to pieces...while I personally deal with you..."

She did not wait for a reply. She immediately guided Leon out of the room and into the hallway. She sighed and leaned against the wall when the door closed behind them.

"I am very glad we received as much support as we did. I was afraid I was going to have to hide you if they voted against us."

"Yeah...mom. I'm glad too."

"Leon, do not worry yourself over this test. You are a child of my blood. The hunt is alive within you. There is no mortal on Earth who can have as much skill as yourself when it comes to hunting of creatures and wild beasts. I doubt even my finest hunter can match you."

Leon nodded and smiled, but he was not exactly returning the confidence that his mother was showing. If anything, her small, twelve year old body was towering over him.

She smiled one last time at him, and then she was gone in a wisp of smoke. Chiron came around the corner and trotted up to Leon, giving him an encouraging smile.

"You are still alive, I see. That alone is cause for celebration. I would like to know if there are any details I should know about."

Leon told him of the test and the preparations Zeus encouraged him to do.

Chiron nodded his understanding and guided him back toward his cabin. Thalia was waiting inside, reading a book, and several hunters were out at the range, still practicing. He was encouraged to see the hunters he had managed to get a little cozy with, especially his new friend Julia, greet him with smiles instead of scowls.

"So, how did it go? I see your not vaporized," Thalia asked.

"So I have heard."

Leon told her the same thing he had told Chiron. She grinned from ear to ear as she heard it.

"So you need some companions, eh?" she asked.

Leon nodded.

"Well then, If you don't mind...I would like to volunteer."

**And so the meeting has come and passed. Leon has been given his challenge and now must prepare to embark on his journey to hunt. Will he be able to prove his worth to the Gods, or is he simply a fluke? We shall see... **

** This is going to be the only chapter for a while, due to a vacation I am taking to California. I hope you all enjoyed it, and I promise that I will make updating this my first priority when I return. Until then, happy hunting!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm Back. California was great! And so here is the next chapter of the story.**

And so the great lieutenant of the Hunters volunteers to undertake this quest to help me kill some mythological critters. I feel so blessed, Leon thought to himself. Thalia was getting her gear prepped for the journey, so she would have what she needed to make sure everything was taken care of and the hunters would be alright in her absence. But she probably need not have worried, as the Aphrodite children seemed to have adopted a policy of avoidance at all costs when it comes to the hunters.

The group would leave within a few days. Leon already had the service of Thalia, and so the group toughie was recruited. Leon prepped his gear, making sure his bowstring was tight and he had plenty of arrows. He was told that he would have to take plenty of nectar ambrosia to help with any beast-inflicted injuries, or simple boo-boos. Leon wondered who would be next to recruit and was helped in that decision by a certain Stoll brother. Connor Stoll walked up to him one day as he was practicing in the arena, improving on his skills with his long hunting knives. Leon still was not the best with a sword, and had already dismissed them as too cumbersome for his taste. As he was making a jab at a dummy, Connor made the mistake of trying to step next to him, and as Leon was pulling his right hand knife out of the dummy, he elbowed Connor.

"Hey Leon, I want to, _OOF_!"

Leon stopped knifing the dummy and turned his attention to the gutted-by-elbow Connor, who luckily had the mind to have his armor on in the arena. And so he was only slightly doubled over. Leon put his hand on his back.

"Crap...Connor, you all right?"

"Yeah man, don't worry. Accident I know. Listen, I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"I heard that you need some companions to give you a little help with your "test". If you don't already have as much as you need, then I would like to help you out."

Leon gave him a small grin in gratitude, but could not resist a question.

"Why do you want to come? Don't you do everything with your brother?"

Connor nodded.

"You see, Travis has got a bad stomach flu. The Apollo guys say that he is going to be under the weather for about a week. He is well taken care of, but I don't want to really be alone at camp while he is lying in the infirmary. And since I am the son of the god of thieves, you might have some use for me."

He said that last line with a mischievous grin. Leon studied him for a moment, then made his decision. It was obvious...

"Sure man. We could use the skills of someone like you. Nick us a couple bucks from time to time?"

"You got it bro!"

He stepped away for a moment. He started to walk away when Leon casually slipped his hand inside his pocket. And what would someone know, but his wallet that he stashed any cash he had was missing...

"HEY!" He called after Connor.

Connor turned, grinning and holding his wallet.

"When I said a son of the god of thieves could be useful, I meant it."

So now he had a tough, punk daughter of Zeus and a wild, fun loving thief. So who else would be joining a crazy hunting expedition? Leon was eating a late lunch at the Artemis table, alone. The Hunters always tried to eat before the rest of the campers, feeling uncomfortable in the crowd that had a significantly higher male population. As Leon ate, he wondered just what made the Hunters and Artemis so repulsed by the opposite gender. He thought back to all the history of his mother that he knew from stories. But he could not find out just why Artemis would hate men. Could it be that she was the patron of young maidens, and that made a natural hatred of men? He did not think that would be the case. Is there a patron of young men, Leon thought. Was there a male god who was like Artemis, only dismissing females as the weaker gender? So many questions, so little life to ask them.

Was Immortality appealing. To live forever, to actually see the end of the Sun, the moon, and whole galaxies? Leon shuddered at thinking of what the Gods had seen in their lives, how much they have experienced. Seeing their children inevitably die, or the mortal they had fallen in love with wither away and be lost to the ages, how could they manage the pain, the agony. He remembered the story he had been told of the new constellation, "The Huntress". His mother's lieutenant for two thousand years had been made a constellation, so that she may live forever within the stars. He wondered how his mother felt when she looked up and saw her constellation, knowing that she was forever honored, yet never able to see her again. Or maybe because she was a god, could his mother could still talk with her spirit? So many questions...

He was still pondering, his lunch getting cold, when Malcolm, son of Athena and Annabeth's Half-brother, sat next to him. He must have known that he was violating the rules, sitting at another god's table and was watching constantly, making sure no one was around.

"Hello Leon, lost in thought I see."

"How can you tell?"

"I am a child of Athena. We spend quite a bit of time lost in thought, and so I know when that blank look comes over you, you are not in contact with Earth."

"Oh."

Malcolm looked around to make sure no one spotted him at the Artemis table. The Hunters still were angry with him for the way he had managed to fight Thalia during their first loss in capture the flag in decades. Thalia still was glaring at him every chance she got, and if any of the hunters or worse, Thalia herself, caught him at their mistresses table...

He turned back to Leon, and his expression was serious and strong. His stormy gray eyes, like Annabeth's, only seeming to be more powerful, bore right into Leon's. He put his hand in a fist and set it next to Leon, and that only seemed to magnify the intensity of the look that He was giving him.

"Leon, I will be very frank with you. I have not been on a quest, or even gone out of the border of the camp, save a few trips. I have been here for half my life and I have not even seen the outside of New York. I need something to do, something to truly prove myself worthy of the intelligence that my mother blessed all her children with. And so I have risked my neck to sit at this table, risk my neck at the hands of Thalia herself, to ask you if I may accompany you on this "hunting trip" I hear your undertaking. I want to help you in any way I can."

He leaned back and surprisingly, he grinned.

"Besides, you got your thief at the arena a few hours ago. Now you need some brains."

Leon took it in for a moment. He looked at Malcolm with the same intensity that Malcolm had looked at him. And then he slowly let out the grin, the same time Malcolm did as well. The two youths then burst out laughing at the top of their lungs, the tension of their talk turning into a friendly banter between young men looking for a thrill.

"Sure man. Brainpower is something we might seriously need for this trip. I don't know what will happen, but someone with brains."

Malcolm nodded, then left to prepare. Leon took some more bites of his lunch and set it aside, a feeling of satisfaction coming over him.

_I have a punk girl, a thief, and the brain...who else is coming along?_

Leon walked back to the cabin after dinner that night. Again, the hunters had taken their meal early and had gone hunting out in the woods, for the dinner of tomorrow. Chiron had asked them to make themselves useful if they were going to stay, and they were making themselves useful in the only way they knew. By supplying the camp with enough venison and small animals as they could.

Leon entered the cabin and prepped his bow for target practice. He took fifty arrows from the camp armory, and set the target at it's farthest point. He then began to fire, his arrows expertly hitting the target with stunning accuracy.

Why was he able to shoot so good, Leon thought to himself. He knew that the Hunters were barely better than the Apollo campers, and that his mother was one of the archer gods. But what was it in him that made him hit the target with such accuracy? Why could he hit targets that even the hunters could not? He did not feel any different when he fired his bow. He did the standard aiming procedure that the Apollo instructor had taught him. But what was it in him that made him so great a bowmen?

He shook the thoughts off. Something his adoptive father had told him was that when something was going your way, don't say anything about it. Just let it happen.

To be blunt...Don't jinx it.

So he continued to fire, and fire again, until the target was so full of arrows that it looked like a sketch of a human porcupine. And when he ran out of places he would like to shoot it, he started to shoot the ends of the arrows already in it. And he was hitting them with pinpoint accuracy. And he did not feel any different from anyone else who ever fired a bow before. Just like he always did.

So this is what it is like to be a child of the Gods?

He heard a noise behind him and he looked over to see none other than Liana, the daughter of Aphrodite who had attempted to give him the love potion approaching him. She saw him tense at her approach, and raised her hands in open palms at her waist. He relaxed slightly, and she approached again, more slowly this time. She stopped a good distance away from him, seeming to know that it would not be wise to approach any closer.

"Hello Leon."

"Hello Liana. No love potion I see. And you don't have any of your cabin here to back you up? Getting brave?" Leon coldly asked. After the love potion incident, he had grown a large disrespect for the Aphrodite campers.

Liana seemed to shrug off the insult. She looked at him for a moment and then began to speak.

"So you have a test to complete?"

"Yeah..."

"And your accepting volunteers?"

Leon narrowed his eyes. Was She...?

"Well, I know you and I kind of got off on the wrong foot..."

"You could say that."

"And my siblings did try to beat you up..."

"True..."

"But if you are willing to...forgive, I would like to join your quest."

Leon narrowed his eyes even more. The daughter of Aphrodite, someone who voted to have him killed off and tossed to Tartarus, was asking to join his little expedition. It was official now...Hell had frozen over.

"And just why would you want to join me? I thought you Aphrodite campers wanted me dead?"

Liana signed and looked at him in a way that made him soften his pose. She had almost tears in his eyes, and her lips were quivering.

"Leon, I am sorry about trying to give you the love potion. I really was not trying to hurt you, but I wanted to know if you would feel love, due to your bloodline. I know I reacted badly when you were able to resist it, but that is kind of out of my control. Children of Aphrodite get extremely jealous and don't like rejection. It is in our blood. And so I am sorry I reacted the way I did. I know that children of Aphrodite and the Hunters do not get along. And I probably should not be able to get along with a child of Artemis...especially a direct child. But I never felt any significant hatred toward you, regardless of my words at that time. I am sorry for what I said about you mother as well. Please Leon...I would like to go along on this quest of yours..."

The look that she gave him could melt the heart of heartless monster. Leon considered her proposal for a long moment. He was angry like all get out over the way she had treated him the other day. But here she was, opening up to something that was suppose to stand against everything she believed in. And something like that could not be taken lightly. The look in her eyes were sincere, and he could not deny the truth in them.

"Yes," He said softly.

"What?" She asked, a smile spreading across her angel face.

"Alright. You may join me."

She smiled, showing absolutely flawless teeth. Then she bounded off to her cabin to prepare.

Leon fired his last few arrows, but with his mind on what he just did, his aim was off by a few millimeters. But the words of his mother...his adoptive mother...echoed in his ears from several years ago...

"_Forgiveness is Divine."_

** And so we have it. The group is assembled. The tough punk girl. The wild, rebellious thief. **

**The smart guy. And the beauty. Just how will this unusual group fare with Leon? Worry not, I have a plan...But don't forget to review and tell me your thoughts. Reviews are pure Gold. **

** Just so everyone knows, I am in the process of making a parody of the New Moon move, so If you love twilight, or just like ripping it to shreds, keep an eye out! **


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm back...Well I have been taking a short break to gather my thoughts and see where my mind takes me. And so here we come to the next part of the saga. I am hoping to take a few chapters on a more humorous note, since If you read my other stories, You'll see I am actually very humor oriented. So let me know if you think that a little comic relief would be good for this story, like the hunter-Aphrodite kid fight we had earlier. Well now I am babbling, so on to the show!**

The time had come to leave. To leave the safety of the camp and to go out into the world. To go out into the world, and hunt down some beasts, prove himself to a pantheon of immortal Gods, and not get killed. Well, stranger things had been known to happen, Leon thought.

He had strapped his knives to his forearms, so he could whip them out at a moments notice. His bow was folded into his backpack, and he had managed to stuff a good amount of arrows into it as well.

Connor and Thalia were holding the group provisions in their backpacks, though they managed to get a large amount of money from the camp store for restaurants. And if they got desperate for money, then that was their thief Connor was for. Leon walked with the group over to the position of Thalia's pine tree, where Chiron was waiting with a piece of paper of some kind.

As they approached the tree, Thalia shuddered. Leon knew that she had been turned into this pine tree when she was twelve and had been so for years, until the golden fleece returned her to human form. Leon wondered how it must be to be a tree for several years. Was she aware of what was going on around her? He shuddered himself at the thought. But he didn't have time to wonder, as Chiron was holding the piece of paper out to him.

"Here Leon. This just came in from the Hermes delivery service."

"What is it?"

"See for yourself."

Leon unfolded the piece of paper to find a map of the continental USA. He studied it for a moment until he saw a image burning itself onto the paper. He furrowed his brow in confusion and took a closer look.

The words Washington D.C. Burned themselves on the map just over the location of the city. And just under that was an image of some kind of creature. A large cat-like creature, almost like a lion. He looked a little closed and realized that was just what he saw.

"Chiron, this creature..." He showed it to Chiron.

"Yes. Well, looks like your first hunt. The Nemean Lion."

"You mean the big pussy cat that Hercules killed?"

Chiron nodded.

Leon was quiet for a moment and then shrugged.

"Well...I guess it could be worse..."

Chiron gave him a squeeze on the shoulder.

"Leon, I have only known you for a brief time. Yet in that time, one has rarely risen to the skill of someone of your archery skill and woodsman-ship. The fact that you actually beat the hunters...yes, it was you...shows that something strong burns within you. I know you will do just fine. And You will come back, having proven yourself worthy of being the Virgin huntresses child and in the eyes of the Olympians of being so. Now go, Argus will drive you to the border of Manhattan and you can board a train to take you to the capital."

Leon nodded his understanding. He looked to his companions and gave them a head jerk toward the road. He heard them following him out.

Argus was waiting outside a van to take them to Manhattan. They boarded and Leon got a jolt due to the special eye trick of Argus. But he saw half of them roll so Argus was probably used to shocked people in his van. They drove in silence, with Liana doing her hair in a mirror, Thalia playing with hers, Connor yelling out threats to people being stupid on the roadway, and Malcolm lecturing him on more "intelligent" ways to insult someone.

_What a motley crew we are_, Leon thought to himself.

The van pulled up to the parking lot of a train station that Argus had told them was heading into the capitol. He bought them their tickets and left them there, in the lobby, holding tickets for a train that was not to leave for another couple of hours, and hungry as hell.

"Does he always do that?" Leon asked.

"Pretty much," Connor replied.

The group wondered through the train station until they came across a Wendy's. They hiked in and ordered. During eating, Malcolm accidentally bit his lip and let out a swear, with some colorful language. He got a stare but no reprisal came from the staff. Connor snickered.

"I spent too much time with you back there," Malcolm grumbled.

Thalia ate silently, still somewhat upset over Liana being with the group. Liana was the same way, but she still glared at Thalia while she ate. Leon would not be surprised if Thalia didn't find some way of putting ketchup in Liana's hair, but thankfully, the violence did not occur.

After eating they wondered the gift shop for an hour, randomly looking at other shops in the station, with Liana having to almost be dragged out of some clothing stores. But Thalia had to be dragged out of Hot Topic. Almost literally...

Finally they boarded the train for the Capitol city of the US of A. They got seats near the windows, but unfortunately, Thalia was seated next to a strapping young man of about sixteen, and he had some seriously wondering eyes. Thalia wasn't in her hunter clothes, but her Gothic style still revealed some flesh that most girls would cover.

After about an hour into the trip, the boy's hand started to wonder over to Thalia. Thalia noticed but took no action, probably hoping not to have to make a scene. But the fingers of the boys hormones overrode any sign language that Thalia showed, and he placed them on her hand. He grinned in what he thought of as triumph, and slowly leaned into Thalia's face.

"Hey there beautiful..."

Thalia, to Leon's surprise, smiled slowly, almost seductively. Se slowly turned to face the boy, and slowly took his fingers in her hand. And then she squeezed...

The boy's smile flicked, and he kept it on only as a distraction to show that he was not feeling the intense pressure on his poor hand. His eyes betrayed him, and he let out a small gasp. Thalia continued to smile, and leaned over to the boy's ear.

"Touching me would not be wise, _boy._"

The boy continued to smile, but the pain was obviously intense, and he was keeping it up only for the attempt to keep face. He nodded, and Thalia slowly let go of his hand. The boy kept his hands in his lap the whole time and did not move them again.

Leon was trying like hell not to laugh. But the boy did have a point. Thalia really was a beautiful girl. He was trying to hide his own wondering eyes, but he could not help but take in the toned body she had. The lithe legs, and the sculpted upper body. She had a face that drew him in with that strange smile of hers, and arms and shoulders that looked like just like the limbs of the fighter she was.

She was not nearly as physically beautiful as Liana or the Aphrodite campers. But there was a aura to her that Leon could not get out of his head, and he had to avert his eyes several times during the trip when Thalia turned to glance at him. She just kept drawing his eyes to her...

He breathed a sign of relief when the train finally arrived at Washington DC. They exited the train and began to explore the city, looking for a cheap motel that they could crash for the night. After of course, Leon completed his little hunt in this city. They finally found a Best Western and rented two rooms for the night. Leon walked into his room with the rest of the group, and began to scour some maps they picked up from the lobby.

"Okay, so where would a thousand pound mythological kitty be hiding in this city?" Leon asked.

"The subway trains?" Connor mentioned.

"Nawh, there's too much interference in the subways. It would want to be somewhere where there is not much trouble from any passing half-bloods, and can kill without being noticed," Malcolm said.

"I have an idea. What about the parks? How big are they?"Thalia asked.

Malcolm traced the parks on the map with his finger and said silent calculations to himself. He finally came up with an answer.

"Pretty big. They are definitely big enough that it could hide in there from any mortals and half-bloods, and prey on those who do discover it. I vote the parks."

The group looked at Leon, who really did not have a clue. He may have hunted caribou and elk, but a lion, and a mythological one at that...no way.

"Good place as any I guess."

Three hours later, the night was upon them. Thalia was glowing gently and that kept catching Leon's eye, but he put it out of his mind when they reached the park. The wind gently blew in the breeze and the dim sounds of the city were all around them. But Leon was not thinking about the area around him, just wondering what his chances were against a thousand pound killing machine.

"Anything you can tell me Thalia?"

Thalia turned to face him.

"Last time we fought it, it was killed by an ice cream sandwich. But we did shoot it in the mouth, and the thing's coat is somewhat...resistant...to damage. So getting an arrow or knife up it's throat should do the trick."

_Great. I just have to hope My arm doesn't disappear down it's throat with my knife_, Leon thought. The group gave him reassuring nods and stayed at the edge. By the laws of this test, they could not interfere with the actual fighting. Just provide indirect assistance. He signed and took out his bow, readying an arrow. He then slowly walked into the park's woods.

The moon provided little light in these conditions, and every little sound threw him off. He tried to keep account of where he left his friends, but the twisting trees left him lost within minutes. He made a mental note to work on his path-finding skills if he survived this.

It went on for an hour. And he heard nothing. Saw nothing. No Lion, no wildlife, no nothing.

He growled in frustration.

"What is the point of fighting these things if I can't hunt them?" He asked aloud.

"_Concentrate..._"

His head snapped up at the voice. Mother?

"_Concentrate your senses. Feel the area around you...concentrate_."

_Well, mom was the goddess of the hunt. Better listen to her_, he thought.

He closed his eyes and focused. And he seemed to enter an almost superhuman sense. The ground vibrated with the slightest touch. The air shimmered with the sounds that he didn't think even possible to hear. And then he felt something...powerful nearby. He felt the ground rumbling with heavy footsteps, and smelled the fur of a smelly, probably big beast. But what he noticed was that he could even hear it's breathing as it raced in his direction.

He opened his eyes, gasping from the effect of this strange new power he discovered, and realized that the party was on it's way.

His grip on his bow tightened, and he could not help but suddenly feel a power course through him, an uncontrollable urge. The exact same urge he felt when he was about to run from the Minotaur, and yet the urge to hunt it overpowered him. He turned toward the direction of the creature he now normally could hear approaching.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty..."

**OWWW, Cliffhanger! Sorry folks, but my writing time was up. And now he faces his first challenge, the great Nemean Lion. Next chapter will be the fight and the journey to the next creature. Until then, I wish you luck in your recent endeavors, and to review to leave your thoughts and tell me any ideas you would like to see. **

**Happy Hunting!**


	17. Chapter 17

**And so, let the fight commence!**

The Creature leaped into view just thirty feet from Leon's position. Leon was startled at the sight of it. He had seen lions before at the zoo he had been once on a vacation, but this thing was bigger than even those huge males he saw. The claws looked like they could rend pure steel, and the mouth was the size of his whole head times three. This thing made the Minotaur look like Bessie the cow.

It let out a low growl and then snarled when it caught his scent. Leon was crouched behind a tree, and he notched an arrow to firing position. He glanced out to see the creature was still sniffing out his position, though it clearly had smelled him due to the large amount of snarling it was doing. Leon studied it for a moment, trying to figure out the best place to put his shot.

His father had once taught him that the best place to put the bullet was just a little below the shoulder blade. That way, it penetrated several major organs and would mean an immediate, merciful kill. Leon guessed that this might be the same way with mythological, overgrown kittens. And he knew that this bow could be just as deadly as his rifle.

Leon slowly raised himself to a standing position, and carefully brought his bow to aim on the now closer Nemean Lion. The creature was slightly turned away from him, sniffing the air and still snarling. Leon took a deep breathe and released his arrow. The shot was perfect.

But the impact was not. The arrow hit exactly where he wanted it to, but all that happened was the arrow hitting it with a metallic _chink, _and then bounce off, not even fazing the creature. But it did get it's attention, which was exactly what Leon did _not_ want.

"What the-!"

He did not have much time to swear, for the lion had reared up on it's haunches and launched itself at his tree. Leon managed to run out of the way just in time, and the lion missed him by a mere foot. He managed to see it rake it's claws against the tree, and huge tears were ripped int it, making the tree groan under the pressure, since a lot of it's lower portion was just swiped away. But it just barely managed to stay up. Not that Leon had time to register this, as he was whirling around to face the creature.

The lion had been able to twist itself around and be facing him directly as it landed. Leon was just able to fire an arrow right into it's face, and again, though he hit it right between the eyes, it still bounced right off. And then the Lion leaped again, and this time, he had no time to dodge. He had just enough time to bring his bow up and fall with the lion's weight o top of him, with it's limbs, thankfully, surrounding him. Leon was on the ground, with a thousand pounds of cat on top of him.

When he brought his bow up to defend his face, the lion's jaws had clamped down upon it. And so here he was, beneath the creature, with his bow locked within it's mouth to keep it away from his throat, and the lion struggling to get that hated piece of enchanted wood out of it's mouth. And it must have been enchanted, since the lion should have easily snapped it in half with jaws those powerful.

Leon grunted with the weight of the creature's mouth pushing down on him. Options were running pretty low right now. And when options run low, so does your chance of living through your current situation. Leon racked his brain with anything he could think of. His friends were forbidden to help him, though he would probably be dead by the time they arrived. He could probably try to kick the lion off, but that would be virtually impossible. Then an idea came to him. It was a very painful idea, physically at least. He kept one hand on the bow, allowing the lion to slowly win their little pushing match. And then he got one of his knives out.

He positioned it just right, and then he let go of the bow...

Leon could not help but scream as he felt the Lion's teeth dig into his arm. His hand and knife had disappeared into the mouth of the lion, and it whimpered once in pain. It gave some meager struggles, and then went limp. But it also rested half of it's weight on him, which made it very difficult for Leon to push it off of him, especially with a torn and bleeding arm. But Leon gritted his teeth and let out only a loud grunt of pain when he pushed it off. He cradled his wounded limb next to his chest, and he reached down to remove the knife still sticking out of the lion's mouth. He sheathed it and then reacquired his bow, sliding it along his shoulders, on his back. He took one last look at the corpse of the "vastly overgrown pussy cat" he just slew. And to his shock and amazement, it disintegrated in a shower of gold dust, leaving only a long lion skin cloak. Leon picked it up but had no time to admire it, as he was starting to grow faint from the injury to his arm.

He soldiered through the pain and back to where the group was waiting. Thalia brightened up considerably at the sight of him, but the whole group was drawn to the amount of blood dribbling from his wounded arm. Connor took the cloak from him and Thalia reached into her pack for a square of ambrosia. Leon took it and Thalia made a eating motion with it when he looked at her in confusion. He ate it and slowly felt better, the dizziness fading away from him.

But it would still be a while before his arm was healed completely, and he was escorted by the group back to the hotel. Sitting on the bed with his arm being bandaged by Liana, Thalia quizzed him on his "approach".

"So, how did it go?"

"I killed it..."

"Well, I kinda figured you did when you walked out of there. But how did you kill it? Did you remember the mouth weakness I told you about?"

Leon mentally kicked himself for not remembering earlier in the fight. Much pain could have been avoided if he had. But he was lost in the moment when he fired his arrow, and did not remember the one weakness of the creature until it was literally right on top of him.

"Yeah. How do you think I got the wounded arm and the blood on my knife?"

Thalia looked at him in annoyance.

"You should have just shot it in the mouth."

"Kinda hard to do that when my bow was the only thing keeping it away from making a late night snack of my face."

Thalia mumbled something but gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder.

"No matter. If you are willing to take that kind of pain to kill the creatures you have to kill, then you must be either very determined...or very good at taking pain. Either way, good job."

She went off with Liana to their room, though Leon was worried about throat-slitting that might take place there.

Leon recounted the fight in his head, but kept going back to that moment before the fight. The moment when he felt the urge to attack the creature, despite it being scarier than his wildest dreams. No, wait, to _hunt_ the creature. Could it be that when a powerful mythological monster is nearby, he, as the child of the goddess of the hunt, just _had_ to fight it?

He did not want to waste any more sleeping time on it. He removed his shirt and fell under the covers of his bed, with Connor next to him. Connor was making sure to keep his distance while in the bed with Leon however. The awkwardness had not evaded him...

Leon awoke to the sunlight streaming into the room from the windows. He yawned and saw that Malcolm was already awake, watching TV with the volume down low, as not to disturb Connor, who was still happily snoring away. Leon arose and stretched, then forced his body to awaken through some vigorous calisthenics.

Malcolm whistled in wonder as Leon demonstrated his ability to perform push-ups at a fast rate for almost five minutes. Leon then switched to sit-ups and was able to knock off a couple hundred before several sets of flutter kicks and squats.

"Well, I can see that you are not a couch potato."

Leon chuckled.

"I guess so."

He rested for a few minutes before popping a question.

"Hey Malcolm, can you answer a question for me?"

"shoot away, man."

"When I was about to fight the Nemean Lion, and also before I fought the minotaur, I felt something strange. Almost like an urge, you know? An urge to fight, even when everything else was telling me to back off and run away. Do you have any ideas?"

Malcolm thought for a moment.

"It might very well have something to do with you parentage. You are the son of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Therefore, you might have an urge to hunt any nearby mythological creature tha you are near. Sorry if that' not a good explanation, cause' I've got nothing else to say."

"Nah man, that's alright. It's good an explanation as any."

Connor moaned in his sleep. Leon and Malcolm heard him saying something, but could not deduce what it was. They leaned in closer and finally could make it out.

"Oh Katie, do that again..."

Leon looked at Malcolm. Malcolm looked at Leon. And both of them were suddenly laughing so hard, the girls came in and asked just what was so funny. Connor was still asleep through the noise, and the girls managed to hear what he was moaning as well. They were quick to join in the hysterics. Connor finally awoke to find everyone laughing and was quick to ask what he missed.

"Oh, nothing my thieving friend...nothing at all."


	18. Chapter 18

**Thanks to all the fans I seem to have! You guys are the real winners of fanfiction. If no one wanted to read stories, then there would be no writers to write them.**

** Just to answer some questions, yes he did get the Lion skin. I wrote it as a "Lion skinned cloak."**

** On to the show!**

The group the next day relaxing in Washington DC. They visited many of the sites and memorials. When the were at the top of the Washington monument, Malcolm signed and told everyone that Annabeth would love to be here. The girl was an architect wannabe, as Malcolm put it. Leon was not all that impressed with the Washington monument, great as it was. He mentioned to Connor that they should cut the top part off and put a statue of Washington himself, giving America a thumbs up.

Thalia especially liked the way the sky was so open on the walkways around the sites, and Leon was just grateful for the fact that he was not going to be attacked by anything anything today. The Lion had really been a shock to him, but if that was a shock, then he shuddered to know what might be next on the list for him to kill.

They where returning to there room after an all-you-can-eat buffet, with Connor and Malcolm moaning about how stuffed they were. When asked why they ate so much if they couldn't handle it, they bluntly told them that it was all-you-can-eat, and they were going to hold it to it's word. Leon rolled his eyes in annoyance. All he had were several plates of chicken and pizza. Liana hadn't eaten much out of fear of getting fat. It wouldn't be appropriate of a daughter of Aphrodite to be overweight. Thalia was also a modest eater, not wanting to feel like a pig.

_As if she ever could_, Leon thought to himself.

When they returned to their rooms, Malcolm and Connor went asleep instantly due to the "food coma". But Leon sat at the window and gazed at the moon, his nightly routine. He felt it's power wash over him and it calmed his nerves, almost as if having the moon on him was like his mother's eyes watching him directly. He smiled to himself and slipped into the bed, closing his eyes and controlling his breathing, inviting sleep to take him.

His dream was again of wolves, but not the standard one he used to have...

This time he dreamed of a wounded wolf pup. It was limping badly and was crying out in pain. It was attempting to get away from something, but what it was, Leon did not know. It's cries tore at his heart, and he was desperate to help it. And then he saw something that made his heart sink, for it was probably to going to end well for the helpless pup.

A bobcat was slowly closing in on the poor thing, licking it's lips as it savored the meal to come. It was approaching slowly and deliberately, almost as if it was taking pleasure in the fear of the baby wolf. It was coming closer and closer. The wolf pup was desperate in it's attempts to get away, hobbling on it's damaged leg and crying out in fear and pain. The bobcat was almost upon it.

And then it pounced...just to be met by something worse than it. For the bobcat at least...

A full bloodied Alpha Male wolf came out of nowhere and met the bobcat's attack dead on. It leaped over the wounded pup and smashed into the bobcat, snarling and biting. The bobcat snarled in shock and responded by delivering several cuts with it's powerful claws to the wolfs head and body, the Wolf responding with a vicious bite to the Bobcat's neck and face, forcing it to reel back in pain. It hissed and tried to get around the wolf to the pup now cowering behind it. But the Alpha was not going to allow it to harm the young, and it turned with the bobcat, keeping itself between predator and prey. It bit the bobcat's neck again and the Bobcat gave a sharp cry of pain. It turned and tucked tail, running for the safety of the trees.

The Alpha did not pursue. Instead, it gently walked up to the wounded pup. The pup looked up in fear of this new wolf, not knowing if it was going to eat him or not. And then the Alpha wolf gently licked the pup's wounded leg, and nuzzled it with it's snout. The pup responded in kind, and began affectionately licking the older wolfs jaw, where the bobcat had slashed it.

Leon's eyes opened at the end of the dream, and he stood up in bed. This one was far different then the powerful one of the running pack he regularly had. This one seemed so much richer and vibrant, despite the extra blood and the feeling of hopelessness. But it gave him feelings of love, love for the wolf who was obviously from a different pack, yet defending the helpless pup that was not his. Guarding it from the predator that sought to make it it's meal.

Leon needed to take a walk after this one. It was a little after five in the morning, and the group was still asleep. It was still pretty dark out as Leon dressed and slipped out, Making sure to eave a note in case the awoke to find him gone. He breathe the night air and savored the scent of dew.

He was walking down a street when he heard a whimper of fear, and then a rough voice. He slowed his walk and ducked into an alley where he had heard the voices. A little girl's voice was pleading, and several rough voices were spilling threats and jeers. He entered an open area behind the alley to find the source of the noise.

A little girl was cowering next to a trash dumpster, with several men in front of her, one holding a knife. The girl was only about eight years old, and The men in their early twenties. Leon saw the fear in the girls eyes and heard the laughter of the men's voices.

"So, are you going to sit there and make us do it the hard way, or give us what we want?" The man with the knife said.

The girl's lips were quivering.

"Please...please..."

The men laughed and one roughly picked the girl up and heaved her over his shoulder. The girl made a desperate cry and one of the men slapped her across the face, breaking her nose and forcing her voice to stall in her throat. They began to move toward Leon's position, hiding behind some trash cans at the area's entry.

Leon felt something powerful enter his body. When the girl was slapped, it was almost as if these men were like the monsters he had killed lately. He felt a power enter him that was similar to the strange urge that he got before he fought the minotaur and the lion. But this was different. This one felt far stronger, and far more powerful. He felt his fists close in tight, so tight the knuckles whitened. He felt stronger than ever before in his life, even before the fights against the creatures.

With a surge of determination, he stepped out from the hiding place of the alley. The men stopped when the saw him, and the one holding the girl tightened his grip on her, and Leon heard her whimper at the feeling. The man holding the knife raised it in a striking position, and when Leon saw the size of it, he was not scared in the slightest. If anything, the fact they were armed, while he had left his weaponry at the hotel, only strengthened his resolve.

"Get out of the way little kiddo. Leave now and we'll forget we saw you."

Leon snarled.

"Or what will you do, attack me with your little blade there? Are you so low that you have to attack little girls to make yourselves feel good?"

The man dropped the girl. She cried out as she hit the ground, and began to frantically crawl back to her previous position. She took up a fetal position like form and stared in horror at the scene before her.

The man grinned as he rushed Leon with his knife, and attempted to deliver a vicious stab to Leon's abdomen. But Leon thrust his hand up at the last second and blocked the pushed the man's hand up, then kicked him in the gut. The man jerked in surprise and doubled over, allowing Leon to knee him in the face. The other man charged and gave a sweeping blow to Leon's face, but Leon caught the man's arm and twisted it. The man gasped in pain and fell to his knees, giving Leon an opening to smash the back of his head with his boot. And it was lights out for the second pedophile.

And it was over. Leon suddenly gasped as his mind came to what he had done. How had he done that? He was never much of a hand-to-hand fighter, despite some lessons from Clarisse at camp. He had never thought he could ever have beaten two huge men, one of whom with a knife, but it had happened. And it was like he was not even in control of himself as he did it, simply acted purely on instinct during the whole thing.

He took several more breathes to calm himself, then turned to the the girl who was still cowering by the dumpsters. She shuddered at his approach and he leaned down to look at her at eye level. He gave a smile and the girl uncurled herself slightly to look at him better.

"Are you okay?"

The girl nodded a little still cradling hr broken nose.

"Do you know the way home?"

She nodded.

"Alright then...sweetie...get home quick."

The girl nodded and picked herself up. With a backward glance toward Leon, which actually showed her smiling a little, she was gone...

When the girl had left the scene a considerable distance away, she lit up brightly. When the light died down, she suddenly was a twelve year old in the garb of a huntress. She gave a small smile as she walked down the street, knowing that no one would see her.

"Very good my son. I knew you would have it in you..."

**There you have it. I hope you all liked it. Seems like Artemis was testing her child. What it was, well, you'll just have to wait and see! Review! **


	19. Chapter 19

**And so we come to the next chapter! Enjoy! The reviews you are leaving mean so much to writers. They give them the courage to carry a story onward, knowing that people have their back, and will give them support when needed. May god...or gods...bless you all!**

Leon walked back into his room, Connor just waking up. He yawned as Leon walked toward the bathroom, and blinked his eyes to shake the sleepies out.

"Yo' man, where you've been?"

"Oh, I woke up early and decided to go for a walk."

"Oh, I get it. Hurry up in there, I gotta pee."

Leon stripped himself and stepped into the shower, allowing the hot water to soak through him and cleanse the night from his skin. The fight against the two thugs trying to do gods know what to that poor girl...the thoughts of her fear crept into his thoughts. The terror on her face, the feeling of her fear that was feeding the two psycho's, made an effect on Leon that he did not expect. And the strange surge of power, usually felt when fighting the monsters he was hunting, was still lingering in his veins. He felt the last traces washed away by the shower, and the feel of the hot water was incredible.

He heard Connor enter and the steady flow of what remained of Connor's dinner drop into the toilet. Leon thought that, if Connor went that way, he better not get any ideas, but fortunately, Connor did not do anything except wash his hands. But that was enough.

Leon yelped as the water turned ice-cold, and struggled with the faucet of the shower, trying to turn it off. Connor was in hysterics, leaning against the door to steady himself, and Leon threw the curtain back, rage overcoming self-awareness.

"YOU LITTLE...!" He cried out, and hurled himself at Connor, fully intending to give the boy a taste of his own medicine. Connor had just enough time to mutter "oh crap" and throw the door to the bathroom open to dodge Leon's attack. He jumped into the room, and Leon quickly followed suit, not one to let someone get away with such an atrocity.

Connor had jumped into the main room, and when Leon followed after him, still naked as a jay-bird, he found Connor cowering, but laughing, crouched behind Thalia, who looked like she had already had a shower. But unlike Leon, she was quite clothed. Liana was next to her, and unlike Thalia, she let out a huge smile at the sight of Leon.

Seeing the two girls in the room with him, Leon's self-awareness finally caught up with him and he realized just what the situation was. And he blushed redder than a fresh cherry that had just been plucked from the fields. His hands immediately covered his, "manly bits", and he yelled out for Connor and the rest to give him a moment. Connor walked into the girls room, still laughing. Liana still had a huge grin on her face. And Thalia...Thalia simply raised and eyebrow, though Leon could swear she was trying like hell not to smirk.

Leon, still blushing like a fiend, dressed himself as fast as he could, not wanting any other surprises from the dastardly Hermes boy. When he knocked on the door as an "all clear" sign, the group walked back in, Malcolm having been in the girls room. Thalia was still suppressing a smirk, and Connor was still laughing it all up. Liana just kept her seductive smile.

"Nice show there, Leon."

"Whatever." Leon grunted.

"Well, if there are not...unfortunately...any other surprises, lets get the map and see if the gods have any ideas for us, shall we?" Malcolm said.

Leon nodded, eager to get this little adventure behind him. Next time they get hotel rooms, he was going to bunk with Malcolm.

They retrieved the map of the US from Thalia's pack and opened it on the bed, and then scanned it for any updates. Sure enough, a new image burned itself onto the paper, just above the star marking the capitol of Nebraska. The creature looked like something between a dragon and a lizard. Five heads stuck out in silent roars, and one was belching what looked like fire from the center head. Thalia gasped and Malcolm tightened his grip on the paper. They looked at Leon with silent expressions of determination, and pity.

"Hydra" Malcolm said.

Leon remembered a story his mother had taught him about the Hydra. The creature was especially lethal, even in the world of mythological beasts. His mother told him that it grew two heads for every one cut off, and Hercules had barely been able to defeat it. Leon remembered his mothers words, and his hands tightened on his bow that he was about to pack. This was going to be getting better and better...

The group packed and checked out, searching for a ride to Nebraska. They discovered that there was an airline nearby with a flight heading for Lincoln, Nebraska. The group bought there tickets and prepared to board, until Leon thought of something.

"Guys, I just had a thought. What if they discover our weapons in our packs and on us?"

Thalia did not look worried. She simply snapped her fingers and gave them a reassuring look.

"Don't worry about it. I got it."

Leon was not completely convinced, but the look of determination and confidence in Thalia's eyes gave him a surge of comfort, like everything was under control and there was nothing to worry about. Leon could have sat there the whole time, just next to Thalia, with that sense. But their flight was called for baggage inspection and to Leon's utter surprise, no one caught the fact that he had a bow and arrows and two knives strapped to his back, under his jacket. He wondered just what Thalia was capable of.

On the flight to Nebraska, the group was watching one of the worst in-flight movies to get...Twilight. As the film ran, Connor and Malcolm decided to add some spice to the film by screaming out certain things during the film. Leon did not join in but if he was not in his seat, he would have been rolling on the ground laughing. And the many poor boys and fathers in the crowd were laughing as well, probably grateful for the antics of Connor and Malcolm.

When Edward the vampire first appeared, and Liana signed in adoration, Connor let out a comment about the man-hood of the twilight vampires. When Edward's family had come before him, Malcolm let out a cry of "Team Alice!" which earned him a round of laughter. Malcolm also commented on Bella's strange way of getting ketchup out of her bottle. Finally, Connor asked why Bella's mouth was constantly open, and why she was not freaked out by Edward saying he had been in her room watching her sleep. Liana was furious with the two of them, asking why the defile such a romantic story. But Connor and Malcolm were busy criticizing Bella's burning from James's bite at the end of the film.

By the end of the movie the next in flight movie was playing which was...most f the people in the audience guessed it, New Moon. When Connor and Malcolm were riffing Twilight, it was for fun, but now they truly ripped the movie to pieces...

Malcolm asked why Bella was such an "ungrateful bitch" when everyone was giving her presents. They made a point of booing her when she showed up at the top of the staircase for her birthday. They wondered why Jasper had not made a move for her earlier. When Jacob took his shirt off, Liana actually piped up with a quiet comment of "Leon's better", which brought the blushing back to Leon's face. But he knew that Liana could only be joking, as a collective shriek from several girls in the back row was heard.

When Edward was taking off his shirt, Thalia spoke her first few words in quite a while.

"Does anyone know that his nipples are messed up?"

"Huh?" was the collective response.

"His nipples. One is upward and one is lower down than they should. It's actually quite gross."

Connor grinned.

"Well, Liana" he said, "I guess things are better left to the imagination, right?"

Liana did not reply, she was too tranquilized by the scene. It must have been the Aphrodite blood in her...

When the movie ended and Malcolm commented that Jacob was running off to terrorize three poor little pigs, The announced came on, telling them that they were approaching their destination. The group walked out of the wirport a little later, squinting in the lowering sunlight. They needed to get a place to rest for the night.

They found a cheap motel that had seen better days. They were only going to be able to get one room with two beds, so the girls would sleep together, with the boys cramped into one queen sized bed. It was going to be an awkward night, if Leon lived to see it.

The group discussed where the Hydra would be located. But seeing the standard "plains look" of Nebraska, It was not a difficult proposition.

"Okay, well, the only place something like that could be without attention is somewhere out there in those endless plains. So...what are we waiting for?" Connor said.

Leon nodded by but was still unsure. The Hydra was unlike anything he had fought, with the ability of growing it's heads back. He asked Thalia if she could tell him anything of value.

"Well, I have never hunted the Hydra with Artemis. But I think if you can find some way of stopping it's heads from regenerating, then that would essentially give you the victory."

"And how do I find out a way to stop an over-grown, fire-breathing, multiple headed lizard from regenerating lost limbs?" Leon quizzed.

Thalia shrugged.

"Well, you are the sole blood of Artemis. Just think for a while. It'll probably come to you."

"Okay...That was very helpful."

"Bite me," Thalia muttered.

Leon walked out of his hotel room, armed to the teeth with his bow ready and his two long knives strapped his back. But before he got far, Thalia came running after him, holding the Lion skin from his earlier victory.

"Here, you forgot this."

"Thanks...but what good is a scrap of fur against the hydra?"

"It is virtually impenetrable. If you have it on, then the Hydra jaws could not pierce it. You would be protected from it's mouth, but not it's flames. Sorry, I wish there was..."She trailed off.

"Don't worry about it Thalia. Thanks."

Thalia smiled as she secured it around his back and frontal body. Leon did not admit it to himself, but having her so near him, her hands around him, made his legs go weak.

What is with this girl, that just overpowered him? What did she have that drew him in? Leon could not stop the thoughts from reaching his mind, but the feeling of the battle ahead of him was too much for him to ponder them. Thalia gave him a reassuring smile before heading back to the hotel, leaving Leon to walk to the cornfields and face the biggest monster yet.

"Well, lets get this show on the road..." He muttered.

He walked for about an hour in the fields, jumping at every noise, until he finally decided to use the new ability his mother helped him discover. He closed his eyes and focused all his senses on the Hydra. He listened for any sound, any sign of the creature. And he heard it all right.

Heavy, concealed breathing...right next to him in the field.

Leon's eyes shot open.

"_Oh crap_!"

With a huge roar the Hydra exploded from it's hiding place. Leon did not have time to examine it in person for a moment, as he was running back to put some distance between them. He heard the Hydra roar and felt a sudden heat on his back. He stopped and jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a stream of fire. Leon blew air on a limb that was a little warm, and then rolled on his back, then shot upright to his feet.

The creature was even uglier in real life. The heads hissed at him, and Leon felt the gaze of ten eyes from five heads burning into him with pure, primal hatred. Leon readied his bow and aimed at the creature, firing into it's middle head, the fire breathing one. The creature snarled at the impact but there was no sign of effect, only pissing it off even more.

Leon welcomed the sudden surge of familiar power flooding into him, and he ran around the creature, not even having to stop to smoothly fire into it's faces. But his arrows had no effect on it, as it seemed impervious to any shots. Leon thought on the run, literally, racking his mind for any tactic that might work. And then a thought came to him. It would be dangerous as all hell, but he thought of nothing else. Besides, he knew that would have to do something radical, or else this was going to get very ugly...or uglier.

He threw his bow to the ground and ran around the creature, until he was behind it. It was not a particularly fast creature, and was still turning around when Leon drew his knives. He thought of his plan even as he ran toward the creature's backside.

"Gods...I am out of my fraking mind!" He yelled at himself. Then he launched himself at the creature's back...

Leon dug his blades as hard as he could into the flesh of the Hydra. Then he held tight as the creature struggled to dislodge him. But Leon made a point of digging his blades as deep as he could, and he held on, Hydra blood oozing onto his face and chest. Then he quickly withdrew one blade and struck it higher up, making sure that he had it as deep as he could before repeating with the other blade. The Hydra roared and thrashed, trying to get him off, and biting at him with it's two side heads. But Leon was just in the right path to be out of reach.

Blood sprayed onto his face and blinded him, making Leon pause to force it off. But he kept climbing the wall of flesh, and was at last at the head of the Hydra's far left head. And then he quickly forced himself up, forcing his blades out, and stabbed them into the head of the creature. The Hydra roared and the middle head opened it's mouth, energy gathering for a blast of fire...exactly what Leon was hoping for.

When the creature let loose it's inferno, Leon tore his blades out, and slid down the neck, grunting from the sudden heat of the fiery blast. His hair singed, but the Hydra head did not fare as well. When the fire died down, the head was gone, burned off by the fiery blast. And the wound cauterized, so the new heads could only dream of emerging.

"One down, four to go." Leon muttered to himself.

He repeated the process, running around and climbing onto the Hydra when he was in the right position behind it. This time, he chose the far right head, to eliminate the only real threat to his new tactic. And the Hydra apparently was not the smartest beast, for it attempted to burn him off, and he again was able to dodge the blast, leaving the new head burned off.

Leon was getting a serious rush, that was not deniable...

His new tactic worked with the next head, but now he faced a new risk. He though about how he was going to take care of the final head, and an idea came to him. It was even more risky than what he was doing now, but with a Hydra pissed off and still having double the amount of heads he did, he was willing to try anything.

He climbed to the top of the Hydra's inner-right head and held on until the Middle head prepared it's fire. And then, instead of ripping his blades out and jumping down in the nick of time, he jumped, tearing the blades out of the Hydra head's flesh as he did.

Time seemed to slow while Leon was in the air. Beneath him, a steady stream of fire flowed from the middle head, destroying the head next to it. But now Leon was sailing toward the head of the fire-breathing mouth, and he was about to attempt something so dangerous, daredevil's would quake at it.

He kept his legs up to avoid the stream and drove his blades into the snout of the middle-head, closing it while it was still breathing fire. The creature whimpered as it could not shut off it's fire soon enough.

"KEEP THAT DIRTY MOUTH CLOSED!" Leon roared.

And the middle-head exploded in a fiery blast. Leon felt himself being singed from the head down and probably have some second degree burns from the explosion. But the Lion skin around did in fact provide some limited protection. If anything, it softened his landing, which was not graceful. He hit the ground with a loud thud and skidded several feet. The Hydra head that exploded fell, and the creature wavered a bit before falling to the ground, it's headless necks landing around it, and before Leon's eyes, the creature turned into bright gold dust and dissipated.

Brushing himself off, then got his bow back from the dirt. He then simply shrugged and began to walk back to the room, wondering if his non-nonchalant to what he just did was simply shock.

When he entered the room, and the group saw the condition he was in, he was immediately relived of the Lion Skin and his gear. Thalia made him eat an ambrosia square for his burns and sent him to the shower to wash the blood off of him. It was a miracle no one noticed his current state when he was walking back to the room.

When he got out, Thalia was there to greet him. Thankfully, he was clothed this time.

"So, how did you kill it?"

Leon told her his tactic, and Thalia's eyes got wider with each new detail. When Leon finished, she simply stared at him for a moment, then spoke.

"You are one crazy guy...and nice job." She said the last words with a smile.

Those words, coming from this girl, was all that was needed to restore Leon's mood. The group sat and watched the Sci-Fi channel, allowing Leon to shake off the fact that he had killed one of the most lethal creatures of Mythology. Leon felt his eyes get heavy as the movie on TV ended, and he curled up in the bed, allowing himself blissful slumber.

At a distance away from the battle, watching, Artemis felt a surge of pride at Leon's abilities. The way he fought the Hydra was a true example of a hunter's intuition. Artemis smiled at Leon's victory, knowing that if this indeed was going to be the only flesh and blood of her to ever be...then it was quite enough.

But she knew what was planned next. The Olympians would not be content with an easy, final challenge. And she shuddered with the thought of what Athena announced would be the final creature. But seeing Leon's defeat of the Hydra gave her spirit a huge surge of morale, and she nodded her silent congratulations to Leon as he walked away, knowing her son...her _son_...would be up to the challenge.

**Remember to review and tell me what you think! I already have plans for what the final battle will be, and the great event for Leon at the end of the story. But if you all have any thought or ideas, then have at me!** **Bless you all, and good night!**


	20. Chapter 20

**You all have no idea about the raising of moral that I receive through your praises and reviews. You all make the magic happen!**

Leon awoke to find the clock still at 5:00 am. He grunted as he raised himself off the bed and walked over to his shoes had been deposited. He tied them tightly and walked to the bathroom, hoping to brush his teeth without awakening anyone. He pressed the brush tight against his teeth, still thinking that some Hydra blood was on his teeth from last night. There was none, but the thought still grossed him out. And so he brushed very thoroughly.

He spat the gob out and washed his face, making sure to soap any areas where Hydra blood had spilled on him during his little climbs up it's back. After he washed it off for the final time, he turned the lights out, and began to make his way to the door. He needed to run, more than ever now.

The air was cool and moist, perfect for his nighttime routine. He stretched and was about to take off when her heard her voice right behind him.

"Care if I join you?"

"Ack!" Leon spun around, startled.

Thalia was standing behind him, in running clothes. How she had managed to be ready so fast, he did not know, but there she was, looking like she was planning the same thing as he was.

After Leon got over his surprise, he smiled and nodded his head.

"Let's see if you can keep up," He told her.

Thalia smiled a mischievous little smile, as though she was relishing the challenge.

"Well, then lead on."

Leon took off at an easy pace. Thalia right behind him, then next to him.

They ran for a bit. The air rushing along his body was soothing and felt great on Leon, who still had sore muscles from the fight with the Hydra. He pumped his legs while keeping a rhythm with his breathing. He pumped his arms rhythmically as well. And Thalia was right next to him, he black hair flowing behind her, and Leon was slightly distracted by how graceful she looked while running.

"All right then, lets up the pace!"

Leon took off faster, and faster. Thalia was slacking at the start, but once she got her rhythm on, she was right next to him once again, a smile on her face at the expression of disbelief on Leon's face. Leon then took off as fast as he could, running as though the Hydra was right behind, waiting to clamp it's jaws on his butt. And there was Thalia, right next to him, grinning as though the world was just right.

_And it is_, Leo thought. If there was one thing he wanted, it was for this moment to last forever. Just him and Thalia, running through the world. Not a care or doubt at all. Just them...

Leon finally decided to slack off and return to the hotel. Thalia was grinning from ear to ear with the belief that she had run him down. But really, Leon just wanted to get back before the others awoke and to walk next to Thalia, just be next to her for a while.

"Thalia, I've got a question."

"Ask away."

"What is the deal with the huntresses and men?"

Thalia signed.

"When we take our oath to become huntresses, we give up the company of men. We only travel when forced to, or when it is necessary..."

Leon looked at the ground for a moment.

"What is this oath?"

Thalia straightened.

"I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt."

Leon nodded his understanding.

"And as long as we hold to that oath, we are immortal, for the most part."

"What do you mean, for the most part?"

"As long as we don't fall in love or get killed, we live forever."

Leon nodded again, though he felt a tight grip in his chest.

"Alright, I was just curious."

Thalia chuckled.

"Aren't we all."

Leon thought he saw a glimmer in her eyes, not of humor or pleasure, but of something else. Just for a moment, he thought he saw something he could not describe in her eyes. This girl was a book with a heavy cover. But it seemed as though each day, Leon grew the strength to open her just a little more...

He pushed the thought out of his mind when they entered the room. Liana and Malcolm were awake, and debating whether they should make funny faces on Connor, who was still off in dreamland. They decided against it though, and the group awoke Connor, who complained that he had a dream of stealing the declaration of independence.

"You have seen that movie one too many times, man," Malcolm said.

Then Malcolm reached over to the nightstand and drew out the map of Leon's quest. Leon knew what was coming, but after the episode of the Hydra, he did not want to see it yet. So he decided to use the standard excuse. One that was proven through the times...

"I'll be in the bathroom. You guys can tell me what it is when I get out."

Leon walked into the restroom and sat on the toilet, not really having to go, but just trying to avoid seeing his future for just a little longer. He stayed in for about five minutes, when he finally gathered his courage and entered the main room.

He found Malcolm and Connor stiff as boards, and Liana had her hand over her mouth in shock. Thalia was standing up thug, as though it was decided that she should be the one to bring him the news. Leon could tell from their expressions that it was something terrible, probably even more so than the hydra. But all of them looked at Leon with pity...yes, pity in their eyes.

Leon gulped and breathed deeply.

"What is it?"

Thalia signed and closed her eyes for a moment. Leon thought she was uttering a prayer of sorts when she opened her eyes and spoke.

"Leon...it's Echidna."

Leon took it in for a moment and then grew puzzled.

"Huh? Who is Echidna? You mean those cute little Australian critters?"

No one seemed to cheer up at his attempt at comic relief.

"No Leon. This is serious. Echidna is the mother of monsters. The Nemean Lion and the Hydra were children of hers."

Leon's breathe stopped in his throat. The mother of those creatures was the final creature he would have to kill? So now he was going after the big momma of the family. He could already feel sweat gather on his hands from anticipation.

He shrugged.

"Well...I guess I better get ready."

The group packed in silence. It was almost as if someone had turned the lights out on their fun. Leon had never heard so few quips from Connor and so few random facts from Malcolm since this trip began. Leon felt as though they were going to a funeral, _his_ funeral.

"So where is this Echidna?"

"Alaska..."

Leon could not believe it. It was almost as if fate had willed it. He had gone complete circle. He left Alaska just several weeks ago to attend this strange camp, found out he was a half-blood, and found out that he was the son of a goddess that hated men. And now he had killed three monsters and was off to kill the mother of them all. Fate could be a serious bitch at times...

The flight to Alaska was slow in boarding. Leon and the group had plenty of time to ponder the fight to come. Echidna was apparently a being of extreme viciousness, if Leon could guess anything from what the others were telling him. By being silent of course. Thalia remained by him however, and Leon was able to take comfort in the closeness that she was being with him. Judging from the vibes he was getting from the others, this was going to be the most lethal and dangerous creature he has faced.

The flight finally boarded and Leon sat across from Thalia, next to Connor. Thalia was looking out the window, and Leon was looking at Thalia. The hair, the shapely body and the glint of her eyes...Leon did not know what attracted him to her. He had pondered this question multiple times. What was it? He attitude, her eyes, or her mind? Was it simply a hunters attraction, or something far more?

He could not tear his eyes away from her until the flight was landing in Alaska. Thalia had not allowed her eyes to leave the sky outside the window. The group left the airport and looked for a place to stay, to get ready for the fight. Leon could feel the tension in the air, like lighting being seen and then waiting for the thunder. And knowing that there was nothing that could be done about it.

They found a hotel to stay for the night. This time, Leon wanted to stay a night before facing the final challenge. He heard no opposition from anyone, though he heard Connor mutter "it's your funeral."

The group decided to go out to eat. They found a nice diner and had a decent meal. Just what was needed before the possibly longest night of Leon's life. They say that the night before you know something bad is going to happen is the longest, and they were not lying.

The group managed to fall asleep. But Leon tossed and turned and could not force himself to sleep. The thought of this creature, that everyone seemed to fear, was nagging at his mind and tearing at his nerves. He closed his eyes and even asked his mother to force him asleep, but it was to no avail. Finally he got up to go to the bathroom, and began to walk toward the open door.

He caught something in the moonlight...it was Thalia's sleeping face.

Leon was so shocked by that face that he stopped cold in his tracks. Thalia was sleeping relatively peacefully, her face resting at ease. The moonlight caught it just right that her face had a pale glow to it, and Leon gazed upon the face of this girl who had captured his heart...yes, it was time to confess it. Thalia Grace had captured his heart...

He found himself leaning over he slightly, just trying to get a closer look at her. She made a slight noise and turned her head so she was facing up at him, still asleep. Leon felt the sudden urge to lean over and gently kiss her lips, though he thought this weird to do to a sleeping girl. She probaly would immediately jump up and kick his ass so hard, he would be feeling it next year. And so he stayed his hand, though he put a hand just above her face, hovering just above her forehead.

Gods...she was so beautiful.

Thoughts of going to the bathroom left him as he sat on a chair that was next to a small table. And Leon sat there, staring at the face of Thalia, and wondering if this was going to be the last night he would ever gaze onto that face.

Gods help him...he loved her.

-morning-

The group readied itself for the encounter. While Leon was the only one to allowed to fight Echidna, there was no telling what was going to happen. She may have some more of her children there, so it was only logical that the whole group go with him on this fight.

Leon had asked where Echinda would be located and Malcolm revealed that she generally favored Caves. Leon remembered a pretty big cave near his old home and determined that would be as good as any to check first. Thalia had agreed and her support was all that was needed to secure their plan of action.

Leon took his time getting ready for combat. He picked up his knives, and savored the grip of them for a moment. He spun them a little and then slowly sheathed them across his back. He had the Lion skin draped around his clothing, which could hopefully withstand the blows of even the creatures mother. He took his bow, the gift of his mother, and held it firmly in hand. He slowly traced his fingers down the shaft, feeling the perfect texture of the indestructible (he hoped) wood.

He took several deep breathes to calm himself and left the door with the group. The walked through familiar woods where Leon had hunted as a smaller boy. In fact, Leon even spotted the area where he had killed his first caribou. So many memories of the woods. Leon wondered if this battle was what was going to take them away...

They reached the mouth of the cave. It was larger than Leon remembered, like an open mouth to swallow them whole. Leon slowly approached the cave entrance and listened hard for any sign of an occupant. And he heard it.

There was the scraping of claws. It was fast and hard, almost as though something was running...running toward them. Leon's eyes widened and he jumped out of the entryway.

"_Get back_!"

And the creature exploded from the cave. It looked like something from a demented horror film. The creature had the Head of a Lion with the body and hooves of a goat and a snake for a tail. It snarled and hissed at them as it landed on the ground just across the cave entryway. The group immediately surrounded it and raised their weapons, readying to strike.

"Chimera!" Thalia Yelled.

"It's not on my list!" Leon hollered.

"Go Then. We can handle it!" Thalia yelled out a reply

"What!" Leon could not just abandon them.

"Go Leon! I said we can handle it!" She yelled. Then she fired a shot from her summoned bow, hitting the Chimera in the rump. It twirled and hissed, but was distracted by a slash from Connor to the snake-tail.

Leon nodded his understanding and bolted inside the cave entrance. He began to move down the rocky natural hallways, the sound of the fight outside echoing behind him. It pained hi to no end to leave Thalia and the rest, but he knew that they were quite able to handle themselves. What he needed to worry about was the strange laughter he was hearing from ahead of him.

He continued through the halls of rock, hearing that laughter, that same creepy laughter. It sounded like an old woman. He stepped into a large opening in the cave, and stopped dead, his breathe seizing up in his throat at the sight before him.

The monster was standing, no, that was not the word. It was upright, but had the body of a serpent. The green serpet body went up to the waist of an old woman, ugly as the mangled remains of road-kill. She was looking right at him, as there was no place for him to have hidden anyway. But the expression on her face was not surprise, but of delight, almost as if it were waiting for him to find it, and knowing what he had come here to do.

"Hello, Leon. I have been expecting you..."

**And so it will begin. The final fight of Leon's test, and the start of the big events of the end of this story.**

** I originally tried to put up a poll for the sequel, but can't get it to work. Therefore, tell me in your review if you would like a sequel or not. Or you could PM if you would like to.  
**

** The last few chapters will begin soon...Until then, Review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**And so the endgame commences...This chapter might be a bit long.**

"Hello Leon. I have been expecting you."

Leon was startled beyond belief at the mention of his name. How did this creature know of him? He had never seen anything like it before.

"How do you know about me?" he asked.

Echidna just laughed, a strange snake-like laughter. It was actually very disturbing seeing a half-woman, half-snake laughing as hard as she was.

"Oh my dear, do you not think that a mother would not know what was killing off her children? I have known about you since you killed my son, the Nemean Lion. I hoped that my other child, the Hydra, would be able to do better. But you slew even him. And when I sent my Chimera to get you, your little friends just had to go and distract him. But that does not matter. I have you right where I want you, my sweet. And so I shall take care of you personally."

She smiled slowly, a very scary sight indeed. Her teeth were pointy, and her tongue, forked it seemed, slithered out and tasted the air around her, like it was savoring his fear. But Leon bit his tongue, and refused to show any sign of discomfort near this monstrosity.

Echidna slithered, yes slithered, a little closer to Leon, and Leon tried to casually lift his arms a little higher, to conceal the fact he was reaching for his blades at his back. Echidna smiled her snake-like smile.

"You really think you have a chance at killing me? I am the one who gave birth to those you slew. I am the mother of monsters! You honestly think I will get killed by some runt?"

"Never underestimate someone Echidna...Typhon was taken down by the Olympians, was he not?"

Echidna snarled in a reptilian way. But her eyes then locked on to something. Something shining on Leon's neck, just above his chest. And her eyes flew from Leon's eyes to the necklace on his neck.

"So it is true..." She muttered aloud.

"What is?" Leon asked, rasing his arms a little closer to his knives.

"The rumors. I didn't believe it until just now. But that necklace on you proves it. You really are the Son of the Huntress. Artemis broke her vow, hasn't she?"

Leon heard the insulting tone to his mother and his face became a mask of rage. He was not going to stand for that one...

"For you information, oh queen of monsters, there are several ways for a mother to have a kid besides sex."

Echidna grinned, realizing that she had hit a sore mark.

"Ah, so it IS true. You are the child of Artemis. A forbidden son...an abomination..."

"Your one to be talking, ya' damn snake!" Leon yelled in retalitation.

Echidna only chuckled. Leon wished she would stop doing that strange snake laugh, as it really was creepy...and really getting on his nerves. He was about to attack just to shut it up.

"And so the abomination of Half-bloods is going to try to kill the mother of all monsters? Tell me Leon, do you think the Olympians, or even better, the world itself will respect you? Knowing that you are an outcast of their whole society?"

"What do you mean?" Leon asked, his anger building.

"You should not have been born...at least not have been male? Do you think your mother really loves you? Artemis makes a pastime of turning men and boys into helpless jackolopes and other animals, so they can be hunted by predators in the wild. Do you really think that she loves you? You are, in her eyes, a disgusting boy. She could never love you! And the world around you scorns you for your bloodline. You are a forbidden child Leon...and the world will never accept you..."

Leon felt the weight of her words. Despite all his efforts, despite the monsters he had slain, despite the fact that he was just aware of it all several weeks ago...It struck him hard. She ws right about a lot of people finding him strange, and some outright hating him for his mother. But His mother had always showed him love, if just in the few times they have met. This creature could not possibly be right...could she? Could Artemis have just faked all the love for him, just to toy with some helpless boy? Could she...

"_Don't listen to her_," a voice echoed in his head.

_Mother_?

"_I truly love you Leon. I do not care if you are a boy or not. You are of my blood...and you have proven yourself quite enough to the world. You are my son Leon, and you have proven it truly..._"

So his mother was still connected with him. And she was disproving all of Echidna's taunts and rants. He felt a surge of pride in the brief message his mother sent him, and stared at Echidna long and hard. Then he reached behind him and drew the blades from his shoulder sheaths. They rang out with a satisfying metallic sound, and he held them in front of him, daring Echidna to attack.

"This has been a nice chit-chat, you little snake...but I've got a job to do, and I you don't mind, I would like to get this over with soon."

Echidna stalled at his words, and her smiler slowly returned.

"If you wish to die right now, that is fine by me...You probably should be worried about your friends outside though..."

"What do you mean? They have got that Chimera covered. It doesn't stand a chance against my friends out there. Besides, Thalia is probably going to dice it within a minute!"

"Ah yes...the little huntress, daughter of Zeus. Now there is someone who should not have been born."

Leon snarled.

"Shut up!"

"Oh really, do I sense some protectiveness about her?"

Leon gripped his blades tightly. She wouldn't dare...But she did.

"You speak of underestimating, then you should know just how deadly the Chimera can be. It has killed a large amount of heroes, and if you think one little huntress can kill it, regardless of those other three, then you are a truly foolish boy indeed."

Leon felt his knuckled go white from gripping his blades so tightly. His body rippled from the muscles tensing, ready to spring.

"And maybe, when I am done with you, I will go out there and see to her personally. I might even place her head on a pole outside my cave, so that all may know that nothing can stand against me!"

"All right bitch, that does it. Your dead."

Leon sprung forward on pumped muscles, savoring the rush of power that always came upon him when facng these monstrosities of life. Echidna allowed him to rush forward, and then hissed, before springing forward to meet his attack...

-Thalia-

The Chimera was _fast_..._very fast_.

The group had surrounded it and were taking turns striking out at it from their side. But the chimera seemed to have a sixth sense, and would be able to dodge their attacks. Thalia had activated agies, but the Chimera seemed to know no fear, as it whirled around and snapped at the shield, almost taking her arm off. She lunged with her spear, but the Chimera jumped up and managed to slip away from the group. It looked like it was going back into the cave after Leon, trying to help it's mother.

_Not so fast_, Thalia thought.

She dropped her spear and shield and summoned her bow, aiming at the rear of the beast. She fired a shot that the Chimera seemed to sense and it just barely managed to dodge. But the time it took it to dodge moved it away from the cave...and Leon. The Chimera regained it's balance, only to find Connor and Malcolm in front of the cave entrance, guarding the entryway.

"Sorry beastie. A friend of ours is conducting some business with your momma, and they shouldn't be disturbed." Connor said to it.

The Chimera snarled and then pivoted around to face Liana, snapping at her. Liana managed to arch her back and dodge the jaws, and she swung her sword, the blade crossing over just centimeters from the Chimera's head. The Chimera snarled and flipped around, snarling at the two at the cave entrance. But it's snake-tail snapped at Liana, and she was forced to back off. But not before swinging her sword at the snake's head, and slicing it off at the mid-point. The Chimera howled.

Thalia was impressed. The daughter's of Aphrodite never showed much fighting prowess. But Liana seemed to have grown out of her life of make-up and skimpy bikini's, for just this moment. Thalia decided she never again would underestimate an Aphrodite child again.

The Chimera gave a howl of pain, and then turned, snapping at Liana once again. Liana gave Thalia a look of "Now's your chance!" and then ran a few dozen feet away, the Chimera obviously pissed at the loss of it's tail, chasing behind her.

Thalia saw her opening and fired.

The arrow caught the Chimera in the shoulder and it howled in pain. It fell and began to thrash in the snow. Thalia retrieved her spear and slowly approached it, minding not to get in reach of those claws. And then she braced her spear and drove it into the Chimera's chest, hearing a death howl tear out from it. She tore her spear out and the creature gave several weak attempts at getting up. But eventually it slowed and stayed still. With a shower of gold dust It disintegrated, leaving a scattering of dust in the wind. Which was exactly what it now was, until it reformed and Thalia met it once again.

Connor and Malcolm approached her and clapped her on the back, congratulating her. And Liana even seemed impressed, which for an Aphrodite child to a Huntress, would have been a very huge deal. But Thalia's thought were not on the praises of her companions. They were on the events that might be unfolding within the cave. Leon was in there now, and probably had met Echidna. She needed to find them and see if there was anything she could do, even if she technically could not get involved with the actual fighting.

"Come on!" She yelled to her friends. She retracted her shield and withdrew her bow. Then she held her spear in front of her as she charged into the caves darkness...

-Leon-

They seemed to be equal.

The two of them struck and thrust and fought like wild dogs, devoid of care or anything of value, except of killing their opponent. Leon fought with his blades, and Echidna with her large claws. She would swipe at his face and he would cut at her chest, right where human and snake met. Echidna snarled and jumped back from his attack, but Leon was not doen with her. He leaped forward, again putting himself practically eyeball-to-eyeball with her. She swiped and Leon blocked it with his blade.

Then she swiped with her other clawed hand, and Leon brought up his other blade to block it. Echidna struggled to bring Leon's arms closer to his body, in an attempt to get a good position for a head-bite. But Leon fought against her force, keeping his arms apart. In frustration, Echidna snapped her head forward and snapped her jaws at Leon, drool flying from her mouth and hitting Leon's face.

"Damn," He grunted out. "You are in desperate need of some mouthwash lady!"

Echidna snapped again, her mouth closer to Leon's face this time. He turned his head away to keep the disgusting mouth juice away from his frontal face. Echidna could not make any progress in pinning Leon's arms to his sides, and Leon was having no success in forcing her claws away either. Then a thought came to him...which Echidna could never attempt, for it involved legs.

Leon, keeping his arms where they were, holding the claws at bay, kicked one of his legs forward, smashing into Echidna's snake-like waist. Echidna grunted at the unexpected move, but she barely managed to keep her claws forced against his blades, to make sure that he would not be able to utilize them. Then Leon kicked again, and again her air was forced from her.

Then Leon, bracing himself against the force of her claws on either side of him, then jumped up and kicked her full force with both legs. This forced Echidna back, and she actually was thrown several feet away, the strength of the Half-blood shocking her. But she was quick to regain her balance, and shrieked in anger. She launched herself at Leon, who was getting up from falling on the ground due to his double kick, and drive him back a few feet as well, the force of her body-slam knocking the wind out of him.

Leon rolled upon impact, and Echidna was right there, to bring a slash against his leg, as the Lion skin around him only protected the torso area. Leon cried out at the feel of her claws slashing his mid thigh, and he doubled over slightly, deeply in pain. Echidna grinned as she lunged forward to deliver a death blow to his head. But Leon was not out for the count.

When Echidna was just about to make contact, he spun in place and slightly to the side. And as Echidna flew past him in a missed, second body-slam, he reached out his blade and drove it into her snake-like under body. Echidna felt her lower self be sliced open, and shrieked in incredible pain. Black blood oozed from the long cut, and Echidna shrieked again, this time in fury. She made several claws at his face and lower body, but Leon ignored the pain of his leg and coolly back stepped with her, blocking all the blows she launched. Leon managed to put some distance between them with a jump back, and Echidna allowed it for some reason.

Leon was gasping for air and bleeding from his leg wound. He also felt as though he might have sprained something from being slammed around a bit, though he didn't feel anything broken. He was bleeding somewhat badly from his leg cut, though he thought it was not very bad. He struggled to catch his breathe while Echidna who didn't look very good herself, bleeding badly from the huge cut all along her lower body, smiled.

"I will commend you Leon. I did not expect you to be as capable as you are. You might have only discovered you were a demi-god a little while ago, but you are quite the fighter."

Leon decided to humor her. Anything to allow him a moment's peace from her relentless attacks. He stood a little straighter, hiding the urge to double over to keep a steady flow of air, and grinned.

"Well Mrs. Snakey, I will admit that you are definitely the most deadliest creature I have fought yet. As long as I don't have to use a sword, I'm pretty good."

Echidna laughed.

"So you can't use a sword real well, truly?"

Leon just grinned.

"Nope. But as long as I have these," He twirled his knives, "I don't need one."

Echidna nodded her head. But before Leon could stall any longer, Echidna rushed him, swinging herself from side to side, in an attempt to make Leon guess where she would come from. Leon followed her movements closely, and was just able to make out the attack was going to come from his left and spun around, blocking her claws with one of his blades. Then he swiped at her face with his other, but Echidna managed to twist her face away and force Leon to block her other attacks, forcing him back more toward the rear of the cave, away from the entrance.

The she leaped back and then made a short leap into the air. Before Leon could deduce what she was doing, she spun around very rapidly, and her snake body slammed into his torso with huge force. Leon felt himself thrown clean across the cave, smashing into one of the walls. The Lion skin apparently did not protect him from blunt-force trauma, as he could swear he felt a rib or two break. He cried out in pain at the burning sensation racing through him, and he dropped his blades, holding his torso in an agony unlike any he ever felt.

Echidna smiled in triumph, feeling her moment was upon her. She slowly approached Leon, her claws seeming to get bigger as she approached.

"Now you see, child of Artemis? You cannot defeat the mother of monsters. In the end your efforts were futile. And so you will die within this cave, and I will make a pile of your bones, before smashing them and scattering them across the land, as a warning to those who would dare try to hunt _me_..."

Leon could only glare in silent defiance at her. He would not cry or scream. He would face her dead in the eye as she struck at him, and not once would he flinch away. He had made his peace with himself. He was the son of Artemis. He would not beg for his life...

And then a noise at the entrance to her lair...

Echidna turned to the lair's entryway. And there, Thalia Grace stood there, her eyes wild when she saw Leon lying hurt on the ground. Her eyes flashed to Echidna and for the first time in many a while, she felt fear.

Echidna snarled.

"You...that must mean my child is...dead..." She muttered. Then with a cry of rage that equaled nothing Leon had recently heard from her she launched herself at Thalia, who had no chance of evading or blocking.

"_NO_!"

Leon had never felt such agony as he felt when he forced himself to his feet. Time again seemed to slow as he picked up his blades. Echidna began to slither faster than Leon had seen across the large lair that was their battleground. But Leon was faster, managing to run past Echidna just as she was crossing the half-way point. Thalia still did not seem to realize what was happening.

_You will not hurt her! _Leon's mind screamed.

Leon could swear he may have felt more ribs breaking as he forced his legs to move. But that just have been the intensity of the pain from his efforts. But all pain would not stop him. All Agony could not touch him. Nothing would mater if he did not stop Echidna from laying so much as one finger on Thalia Grace.

He reached Thalia, just in front of Echidna. He had just a moment to look into her shocked blue eyes...And he tried, in that one second, to tell her using only his own eyes, just what she had done to him. She had reached into his heart and healed it after it was shattered by the truths about what he was. And then he whirled, just in time for Echidna to throw herself in a dive a Leon. Her claws were outstretched, yet Leon made no effort to block them. He only raised claws of his own, the blades her received from Camp-Half blood.

And they connected. He felt Echidna's flesh give way beneath his blades razor edge, and Echidna's gurgling scream of pain. He stood there for a second loving the sight of Echidna's face of shock and anger. He smiled, though he felt a little blood dribble out.

"And that is how it's done." He taunted.

Echidna grinned, which surprised Leon. She was slowly turning to gold dust, but she still smiled and Leon wondered why. Then he happened to glance down...

Echidna's claws had managed to stab into an area just below his neck, just outside the Lion skin of protection. Leon opened his mouth to gasp out in the sudden pain he felt, and nothing but blood flowed from his mouth, and he coughed, spitting out even more. Echidna gave a gurgling laugh before her face turned to gold dust, though her clawed fingers, imbedded with Leon's mid-chest, were the last to disappear.

With the claws gone, the blood flowed freely from the vicious wounds. He turned slowly to Thalia, standing behind him in shock of what she had just seen, and she saw the wounds Leon had just suffered. Her mouth opened and her eyes widened.

"Oh gods..._HELP_!" She called to the group following behind her.

The rest of them came from behind Thalia and Leon slowly fell. He had pain like something unimaginable racing through his chest. Fire burned in his veins as he gasped for air through his blood filled mouth. But he was caught as he fell.

His angel had caught him. Well, the huntress he loved had.

Thalia had rushed forward and caught his falling body in her arms as he began to topple down, his legs refusing to hold him any longer. Thalia leaned over the bloody wounds and screamed for ambrosia and held her hands over the wounds, trying everything she could think of to stop the bleeding. Leon felt someone shove an ambrosia square in his mouth, and he weakly chewed it. He managed to swallow a little, but he was forced to cough most of it up, blood still filling his throat and oozing from his mouth. Ambrosia was not going to help these kinds of injuries...this was fatal.

Leon felt life ebbing away from him. It actually felt calm and warm, despite the now dulling pain in his chest. He saw images of his mortal adoptive parents, his father and mother. Yes, despite the fact that they were not his biological parents, they had certainly earned the right to be so.

He saw images of several of the huntresses he managed to get to warm up to him. Julia smiling at a joke he had nervously told, and the group of them that had come to his defense when attacked by the Aphrodite children.

He saw mischievous Connor and brain-guy Malcolm laughing at the movie back on the plane and making the whole section of the passengers howl with laughter.

He saw Liana, the Aphrodite child that had regretted her earlier actions and had joined them on this test, laughing and giggling with joy as she shopped through the numerous clothing stores they found.

And, gods, he saw Thalia. The huntress. The daughter of Zeus. The one who had successfully hunted and claimed his heart, however inadvertently she had. Her smile, her courage, her eyes...yes, her eyes. Those electric blue eyes that he gazed into now, lost to everything but this moment of passing. If there was going to be a final sight in his eyes, it would be her face, though he would not have wanted her to be actually crying and pleading with him to stay alive...

The angel should not be crying...it is not right...

He opened his mouth to force words out. There was something that needed to be said.

"Tha...Thalia..."

"Don't talk. Save your energy..." She told him.

"Thalia...I...I lo..." But he was gone. His view went to black, and he knew no more...

-Thalia-

It had happened so quickly...

She had never expected the sight before her. Leon battered against the wall, the creature Echidna approaching, to deliver the killing strike. Then the creature swirving around to face her and charging. Leon showing some effort worthy of Artemis, chargin forward with obvious difficulty, and darting in front of her, to shield her from Echidna's attack. And the sight of the two of them, fatally delivering wounds to one another...

_No, he can't be dying!_

He couldn't be laying here, not after all they had been through. She kept seeing flashbacks of her times with him, of him stealing glances at her when he thought she would not notice. Of noticing how different he acted when she was talking to him. How he...

No, she mustn't think of him that way...it was not proper...

And so she sat here, cradling his head in her lap as she watched the life flowing from his eyes, crying and her friend doing everything they could think of to prevent what seemed to obviousl be his death. She cried...and cried.

He had just closed his eyes, and she let out a sob, when a brilliant flash of light filled the chamber. The group momentarily forgot about Leon and shielded their eyes. But the effect was only for a second and then what looked like a twelve year old girl was in the room. She was clad as the huntresses, and her eyes glinted like the moon. But the moonlight in her eyes was foggy, as she had tears in them as well. With an incredibly amount of speed, she was at their side, her eyes on the dying boy lying in Thalia's lap. It was then that who is was registered in Thalia's mind.

"Lady Artemis!"

Artemis had tears in her eyes as she surveyed the damage done to her son. She had witnessed the whole battle against Echidna, and was shocked at the power and determination to carry on, despite all the bone-shattering blows Leon had received. And she saw run in front of Thalia, despite the fact she sensed several broken ribs in him, and take the stab of claws intended for her. But not before he drove his own blades at the same time into the monstrosity of Echidna.

"My Lady...I thought...I thought you could not interfere with the test..." Thalia sputtered through her tears. Artemis could see that she had gotten close to her son, but that was not her concern. All her efforts were now concentrating on Leon, hie eyes now closed, and his breathing dimming with each minute.

Artemis looked into Thalia's eyes.

"Thalia, I have never had a child. My oath had forbidden me from having any such encounter that may result in one. But now that I have been able to have one of my own without breaking my oath, I have grown to love him just as much as any mother, perhaps even more. And I do not care if the laws of my father forbid me from directly interfering...He is my _son_, and by the fates, _I WILL NOT LOSE_ _HIM_!"

Artemis had screamed her last few words. The tears in her eyes did not dampen her resolve. These wounds were too harsh for her healing abilities. She would need someone more specialized, and she knew just who was needed.

"Thalia, and the rest of you, thank you. Return to camp Half-Blood by whatever route fits you, I will be taking Leon."

"Where?" Malcolm asked.

"To Olympus. Now please go. I will tend to him."

Thalia shuddered one last time, then allowed Leon to be hoisted up by his mother, the twelve year old looking goddess picking up someone a head and half taller than her with no effort whatsoever.

With a flash, she was gone...

Thalia stood stunned for a moment. Leon's blood was still on her hands, and she stared at them like it was a sign. Liana laid a hand on her shoulder, and Thalia stood up. Connor and Malcolm had grim expressions on their faces, and Liana was on the verge of tears herself. All four of them had bonded with the forbidden son of the goddess. And each was suffering in their own way. But Thalia slowly composed herself and, without a word or a glance back, led them away. Connor and Malcolm made a point of picking up Leon's gear before they left.

-Artemis-

There was a flash as the goddess entered Olympus. There was no one in sight, and she ran for all she was worth, directly for the palace of the sibling she now needed, more than ever before. His palace loomed ahead of her, and she wasted no time knocking, just kicked the door down with one smashing blow.

"_APOLLO!_" She screamed.

**And so Leon slew Echidna. And suffered horrendous wounds fighting her, and then saving the girl he loves. Will Apollo be able to save him? What will happen to Leon, if he can recover from the wounds, now that his test has been passed? We will find out in the Epilogue, coming ****shortly.**

** I hope you all who have read my story faithfully have enjoyed this tale. And I have the sequel planned in my head, which will begin shortly after I complete the Epilogue. The Epilogue may be a little long as well, as I debated having more in this chapter, but decided to take a break. I hope you all enjoyed the final battle, and will stay tuned for the final chapter and the start of the sequel!**

**Sincerely, RWBRyan.**


	22. Chapter 22

**And so, here it is. The Final Chapter. And the Epilogue is included at the end of this. Leon will receive his reward for his efforts, and it may end up being more than he bargained for...**

-Leon-

_I am being carried..._

_Wait a minute, if I realize that I am being carried, doesn't that mean that my mind is still with my body? Wouldn't I descend into...Hades was the name? Would I still feel some pain? If I am dead, how can I be feeling this?_

Leon's eyes moved under the lids. He tried to move them, to open his eyes and see just what in the blazes was going on around him, but he could not muster the strength to do so. He felt himself being laid down and a cool, small hand placed against his forehead. He heard a man gently tracing fingers along his wounds, and he braced himself for pain. But none came.

He felt stronger with the strangers touch, almost as if he were being healed with only a mere stroke of someone's hand. He could feel a soothing sensation course through him, bringing calm bliss to his ravaged body. Then he felt the fingers move to his leg wound, and the pain gradually leave him. He managed a grunt with his new found strength, and tried to open his eyes. But a hand, smaller than the one healing him, was placed along his forehead, and stroking it several times.

"Don't try to get up Leon. Just rest and allow Apollo to do his work," The feminine voice said.

_Mother?_

He distinctly thought it was his mother, but could not open his eyes still. He took a deep breathe, which was now unhindered by blood clogging his chest, and felt completely at peace, resting his head more thoroughly on the pillow now being placed under his head. He breathed and allowed himself to slip away once again.

-Artemis-

Artemis signed with relief as she watched her brother do his "emergency healing". He had moved with careful precision, never missing one possible wound on her sons tender body. He finished and looked up at his sister from his crouched position next to the bed, grinning as if he had just won the Olympian lottery.

"Am I amazing, or what?"

"Apollo, I don't know how to thank you..."

"Don't worry little sis, it's what I do."

Artemis didn't bother to correct him, just allowed him to have his moment. She stared intently at her son's sleeping body, and allowed a smile to cross her face. He had passed. The Nemean Lion, the Hydra, and Echidna were dead, for now. Leon had slain the monsters he was sent to kill. He had proved himself worthy to the Olympian council and she could not have been more proud to say that he was indeed her son.

_Son...I had not seen that coming..._

Her thoughts traveled to the day of his birth, when she realized with agony that she had endured nine months of pregnancy to be cursed with a boy, something she was suppose to despise and hate. She remembered almost killing him, until he cooed at her and she lost all nerve. Her finding of the family in Alaska was a stroke of incredible fate, and they raised him as if he were their own.

She smiled at the memory of his earlier adventures. Her helping him find his way home when he was lost at age five. Hunting his first caribou when he was ten, and her secret visit to him when he was thirteen, his stuttering at her beauty. And his knowledge of the art of hunting. She had really been there with him when he killed the Nemean Lion and the Hydra, surprised at his tactics to kill both of them.

And she had watched his battle with Echidna, the "Mother of Monsters". She had watched with apprehension as they initially taunted each other, and then came together in the battle that followed. She had outright panicked when he was helpless, in a corner with her coming at him to deliver her claws of death. And the way he had rushed forward to save Thalia, despite his wounds, showed incredible strength of will...

Her thoughts went back to the final moments, his dive in front of Thalia, in order to take the claws meant for her. His expression when he looked at her in what he might have thought as his final moments...

Could he...?

She laid her hand down upon Leon's forehead once again, and stroked it one last time.

"Apollo, I need to speak with my father. Will you watch Leon for the moment?"

"Sure sis."

With a flash she was gone...

She reappeared in front of her father, who was tending to cleaning his lightning bolts

"Father, I have a request to ask of you."

Zeus looked up in silent observation, nodding for her to continue.

"Father, I will not have another child. That I will swear upon the river Styx. And my child has proven his worth to us, even though this comes before the final judgment of the council. And so I have a favor to ask of you."

"And what, my daughter, would that be?" He asked...

-Leon-

His eyes opened to a blinding light. He shielded his eyes with a grunt, and when his view cleared, he saw nothing but a handsome man with a goofy grin upon his face. He was bright, very bright, and looked like...he had seen him before...

"Hey there cousin! Welcome back to the world of the living!"

"Huh? Do I...?"

"What? Did you forget you uncle Apollo? The god of mind-blowing awesomeness?"

Leon chuckled as he raised his head a little higher. He was in a high vaulted room, lit only by what looked like artificial sunlight. Virtually everything was gold colored, including the bed itself. He felt strong enough to stand, although Apollo had to help him regain his balance when he stumbled a little in his initial attempt.

He stood and stretched, loving the feel of being pain-free from the wounds inflicted by Echidna. He looked around for his gear, but to his dismay, found them not within his sight.

"Where is my bow and my knives?" He asked Apollo

"Don't worry about them. Your friends took them with them when they started back to camp. How do I know this, your probably wondering? Because I am the the sun, and I see everything baby! WHOOO!" He whooped with joy.

Apollo apparently was quite full of himself...

There was a flash of light and his mother apperaed before him. She was smiling slightly at his recovery, but Leon could sense that there was something deeper in her smile. She nodded at Apollo, who gave Leon a grin before leaving the room. Leon was then alone with the goddess of the hunt.

"I see you are recovered."

"Yeah...mom...pretty good now."

"I am very glad...There is something I wish to ask you Leon."

"What is it mother?"

Artemis's expression turned serious, but not unfriendly. She indicated tat he should sit on the bed, and sat next to him when he did so. She looked into his eyes with those moon-like orbs she had, and then asked the question that he hoped he would not have to answer to her.

"Leon, I have been watching you...And so I must ask...Have you fallen in love with my Lieutenant?"

Leon's breathe quickened and his heart began to beat as erratic as it was before the Echidna fight. He glanced around the room, trying to come up with something to say. His mother seemed to notice his stalling tactic and coughed to bring his attention back to her.

"Leon, I will ask again. Are you in love with Thalia Grace?"

Leon sucked in a deep breathe. He could not tell her the truth...not now.

"No mom...I am not."

"You are sure?"  
"No...she is just a very good friend..."

Artemis examined him harder for a moment, and then nodded slightly, getting up.

"All right. I will believe you for now. The Olympian council will be discussing your recent pass of their test, and your future."

"My future?"

"Yes. Until then, you are returned to Camp Half-Blood. I will retrieve you when the time comes for you to be given your reward, if they agree to it."

"Reward...what is it?"

His mother genualy smiled. She placed her hand on his chest, and Leon saw a strange glow began to build around him.

"You'll find out. Goodbye for now."

"Wait, what do you-?"

But he felt himself being lifted and flown away by some supernatural force. He flew with blinding speed past cities and countryside. He saw the woods and then, before he knew it, he was standing in front of the Big House of Camp-Half Blood. He was not afraid to know he was still screaming in fright as he "rematerialized". And he stood stiff as a board, examining his surroundings with his eyes alone moving. He gradually began to move, still unnerved by the new experience.

Whatever that was...he did NOT like it...

He slowly began to trudge back to the Artemis cabin, waving at some campers who were pleasantly surprised to see him back. He was opening the door when he was swamped by huntresses.

Julia and several hunters immediately hugged him. Now this was a strange coincidence, considering that they technically were probably not suppose to be doing this to a boy. But apparently the son of their mistress did not really count. Was he suppose to be offended by that? Nah, it was of no importance.

"Is Thalia back?" Leon asked.

"No. We got an Iris message saying that they should be back by tomorrow. She sounded...dull, upset. Did anything happen while you were with her?"

"No. We became friends, that was all."

Julia nodded and smiled. Then she summoned her bow and gave Leon a low grin.

"So, you up for a little target practice? We know you lost your weapons, so we managed to "borrow" one from the Apollo cabin."

Leon cocked an eyebrow.

"Borrowed?"

"Without permission, yes. But I'll return it.I may be a huntress, but I'm still a daughter of Hermes."

Leon just chuckled and took the bow from her hands. Then he and the rest of them began to march toward the target range...

-The next Morning-

Leon awoke to the sounds of the wake-up calls. He and the rest of the huntresses forced themselves up and began to make their way toward the breakfast table. Chiron was there, smiling at him like Leon was his son who had just passed the hardest test one could have with flying colors.

He quieted the chattering crowd and made the announcements of the day. He led the morning prayers to the gods and then his gaze centered upon Leon, who, seeing what was most likely coming, was trying to hide behind Julia, who simply rolled her eyes in amused annoyance.

"Campers, I have a special announcement. As of this day, Leon Foreman, child of Artemis, has completed his test of the gods. He has slain the Nemean Lion, The Hydra, and Echidna herself."

There were some gasps from all around when Echidna's name was mentioned, and Percy Jackson at the Poseidon table shuddered, as if he personally knew of Echidna.

"There fore, he will receive olive branches at the conclusion of breakfast. Congratulations Leon!"

There was a loud applause and several whistle calls from all around, except at the Aphrodite table, which still seemed sore about Leon's parentage and the fact that one of their own actually went with him.

Leon, against his will, was herded to the center and had his head wrapped in the olive branches. He gave them a embarrassed half-grin as he held his fist aloft, as that was apparently what they wanted, and he was greeted with increased clapping and shouts.

The day went on from there. Leon practiced his meager sword-fighting skills with Clarisse, who was pissed that he had not really improved with a sword. She was said that he was used to only little daggers, and he would have to learn to wield something bigger eventually.

_Wait until I get my knives back_, he thought.

That night, Thalia returned.

Leon was on the porch of the cabin, resting on a wooden bench placed there, when she trudged up. She stopped and stared at him for a second, almost as if she doubted her eyes. And when he got up and moved in front of her to look into those eyes he loved, she tenderly reached out a hand and touched his chest.

"Your alright...?"

"Yeah...I'm alright."  
Thalia suddenly laughed, though it was an incredibly nervous laughter. She then embraced him, still laughing, and he embraced her back, sorely wanting to kiss the top of her head. But he knew the huntresses would be right behind him, and that would have been a compromising situation indeed.

"Well, I'm glad your okay. I was worried that I may have lost you...and I couldn't bear..." She trailed off.

"Couldn't bear what?" Leon asked. Thalia shook her head.

"Nothing...nothing at all."

She entered the cabin and their were cries of relief from the huntresses outside. Leon stood on the porch for a second longer, wondering if he had just heard what he thought was...well, he did not know. He followed her into the cabin. Lights out was called, and the cabin went dark.

But Leon could not sleep. His mind was still going over what might happen in his immediate future. What was it the Olympians were going to do to him? What were they going to reward him with? So many questions, so few answers. But all that was shattered when he looked up and saw Thalia's sleeping face in the dim, moonlight glow coming from the windows.

Leon watched her face, and as if in a trance, got up and approached her, almost like the force of gravity had shifted from the Earth to her. He quietly walked over to the side of her bunk and gazed at her face, studying every detail as if he was just seeing it again for the first time. Her relaxed state showed not the fierce and proud huntress she was, but something else...something entirely different.

Why was he in love with her? He was suppose to be a child of Artemis, a goddess who spat on love. But this Thalia Grace...she had taken his heart and soul. He could not tear his eyes away from her sleeping face. And before he could control himself, he was leaning in to kiss her. It was almost as if his mind was tired of the constant struggle and simply said _to hell with it_.

_I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood and join the hunt._

Her words to him several days ago stopped his descent. His heart began to feel like it was starting to catch fire...

_And as long as we hold to that oath, we are immortal, for the most part._

He recoiled from the flashback in his head. His heart finally ignited, and he gritted his teeth. The pain was not physical, it was far worst then that.

_ As long as we don't fall in love or get killed, we live forever._

No...he could not do it. He could not take her immortality, and the life that she obviously loved away from her by trying to get her to love him. She was a beautiful thing, and she deserved to be alive as long as the stars still burned.

His heart felt like an inferno was ablaze within it. Aphrodite be damned...he can not, and would not rob her of the life she had chosen for herself...he loved her too much.

"You'll never know..."

And then he went back to his sleeping bag on the ground, and fought to control the firestorm his heart had become...

-Later that night-

Leon was awoken by a soothing brushing upon his face. He strained his eyes, and then looked up to see his mother crouched next to him, a small smile on her face.

"It's time Leon. The council wishes to see you."

Thank gods he had chosen to sleep in his clothes.

Artemis placed her hand on his forehead.

"Whoa, wait a minute...that again?" He asked in a loud whisper.

"It's the quickest way."

"Wait isn't there-!"

Too late. The same sensation came to him as the world around him dissolved in a swirl of images as he passed through the land, faster than anything that could be measuered, until he was outside the throne room of Olympus. He breathed out some forced air.

"Mom, I hate to break it to you...but I hate doing that..."

She only laughed.

"You best get used to it. You may be doing it quite a lot."

"Huh?"

"You'll see."

They entered the throne room. The Olympians were...well, big. Leon estimated their sizes at about fifteen to twenty feet big, and he was almost dazed by the sheer size of the throne room. It seemed like it could hold all of camp within it and then some!

Artemis walked toward her throne, and Leon was disturbed to see his mother grow into the same size as those of the Olympians around her. She sat on her huge throne and smiled down at Leon, who was quite ready to outright bold from the room. He did not like the current odds if this should turn ugly...

Zeus stood up to his god height.

"Leon Foreman, you have completed the test assigned to you. And Artemis has petitioned the council for this act of generous rewarding. Do you understand what you are here for?"

Leon gulped. He was NOT LIKING THIS!

"To get...to get...rewarded?" He slowly said, stuttering.

"Exactly!" Zeus roared with a smile on his face. Leon jumped at the volume of his voice.

"And so, we shall take a vote. Does Leon get the reward asked for by Artemis, with her solemn vow that his conduct during his new condition be upright and moral?"

New condition? What was Zeus talking about?

All Olympians made a vote. Aphrodite, who originally hated Leon, seemed actually giddy about something. She winked at him mischievously, like she knew something he didn't. Or he knew what she knew and just did not know exactly what he knew that she now did.

Hera still was adamantly glaring at him though.

"Do we not have enough already? Do we really need one more?" She asked.

One more of what?

The other gods however, said yes, though some were a lot more casual about it then others. Athena in particular said that she was very impressed with him, and that she might have underestimated him initially. Leon warmed to that fact.

Zeus saw the overwhelming yes, and then continued talking, his eyes on Leon.

"It is decided. My Daughter Artemis had decreed that this shall be her only child for the rest of time. And so therefore, when Leon successfully completed his test, she asked that we grant her this wish for her. And so, with the permission of the Olympian council, and their overwhelming approval, I hereby declare Leon Foreman, the one and only child of Artemis, be made a god of Olympus, a lieutenant in his mother's domain."

"Sweet," Leon said. Then the full weight of what he just heard hit him. His eyes bulged in surprise and and his mouth dropped. He didn't just say...

"Whoa...wait a minute...did you just...?"

"Prepare yourself Leon. The making of a god is a little...bumpy..." Zeus said.

"WHAT A MINUTE! DO I NOT GET A SAY IN-!" Apparently...he did not.

Zeus pointed at him, and a bolt of energy struck Leon. He was thrown to the ground and then felt a surge of power unlike anything one could ever experience. He felt the world shifting beneath his withering body, the calls and sounds that he never had before heard. Images flew through his mind faster than he could register them, and he took it all in in complete and total surprise. He felt himself falling, dropping. But then there was nothing but solid ground beneath him. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at the face his mother, again crouched at his feet, with Apollo laughing his head off behind her.

"He told you it was rather...shocking," She said.

Leon stood up. He was surprised how little effort it took. He felt the world around him and sensed every detail of things he could not describe. Power still surged through him, and he saw the other Olympians at human size, crowding around him and offering congratulations. Leon shook hands, but still did not understand half of what was going on.

His mother took him by the shoulder and guided him toward the garden of solitude, where they could be alone.

Leon sat down on a bench, his mother, still looking like a twelve year old, beside him.

"Okay...did that really just happen?"

"Yes, my son. You are a god now."

"An honest, true blown god?"  
"An honest true blown god, as you put it."

Leon could say no more. He looked around and everything seemed more clear. He tried to give a little test of his speed.

He darted forward and in micro-seconds was clean across the garden. In another microsecond, he was right at the opposite side. He continued playing with his new speed until his mother, now laughing at his little game, called him over from where he was. In less than a microsecond, he was sitting next to her.

"Leon, you must understand that with this power, comes an incredible responsibility. Zeus was apprehensive about giving power to someone as young as you, though he had offered it to someone close your age before. I had to personally vouch for your behavior and mannerisms as a new god. And you must remember that you are a minor god. You may have all the standard powers, but one of us can still defeat you with relative ease. Therefore, I will be keeping my eye on you, in order to make sure that Hera or Aphrodite does not attempt something they may regret. Do you understand my words, son?"

Leon nodded. His head was still swimming with his new powers of perception.

Artemis smiled and then led him to a room where she told him to think long and hard about what he wished to have as his domain.

Leon sat on the bed and thought. He was a god for about three minutes before being asked this question. But all he could think about was Thalia, back at camp. She was probably still asleep and...no, he mustn't think of her, not when he needed to think of what exactly he wanted to be in charge of.

Several thoughts came to his head.

He remembered with bitterness the little girl being attacked in DC. He people like that needed to be hunted down and punished, and he remembered the reaction he had when they went after him. It was almost as if he were meant to protect her, to protect the helpless. Well, that solved one problem. He could be a protector of the helpless, whether they be young or old. Sick or healthy. Man or woman, girl or boy.

And that was what he knew he wanted. To be a patron of those who protect the innocent. He stood up and boldly walked out, feeling the powers of his godhood crackle through his body.

_I can get used to this_, he thought.

He found his mother waiting outside the Throne room and she bade him enter. The gods were having a small discussion, but that quickly ceased as Leon entered.

"Well, I've got it."

"And what would you like to be the patron of, Leon?" Zeus asked.

"I would like to be the god of protectors, and guardians."

Zeus gave a small nod. He gave him a hard look and Leon felt a much smaller surge of power join what was already bristling inside him. Apparently, his wish was granted.

Zeus then dismissed him from the room. His mother walked down the corridors of Olympus with him, holding his shoulder. She gazed at him for a moment as they reached the area of Olympus were she said palaces were located, and that one for him was already under construction.

_Man, I get my own palace...this just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter_, he thought.

"I hope you will stay out of trouble for the first few years of this new existence son?" She asked.

"Oh mom, with abilities like these, how bad can it be?" Leon asked, a huge smile on his face.

**Epilogue...one and a half years later**

Lord Leonike sat on the chair in the far area of the large tent, a smile on his face. He always welcomed new additions to his group. He ran his hand though his hair and gave the signal for his lieutenant, a physically sixteen year old African-American boy named Jaydeen to bring in the new recruits for his group, tentatively called the "Guardians".

He had formed the group up several months after becoming a god, wanting to have a group like the huntresses. But unlike them, they did not hunt monsters alone. His group was dedicated to defending the helpless and the young, those too weak to help their condition, and to stop them from being exploited by those stronger than them, like murders and rapists. And when they caught them, the Guardians made them wish that they never even allowed the thought of their crime to come to their mind.

The two initiates walked in, the boy about sixteen, as well as the girl. The boy was shirtless, and the girl wore a sports bra. They both seemed nervous in front of the assembled guardians, all ten of them, not including Leonike. But the smiles and encouraging atmosphere halped to calm them, and the two of them did as Jaydeen had told them, standing straight in front of Lord Leonike...god he loved that term for himself. Lord...so catchy.

He had changed his name a year ago, when after several months of being "Lord Leon" it was sounding pretty dull. What kind of a name for a divine being was "Leon"? And so he changed ti by adding the Greek word for "victory" to it, "Nike". And so he became Leonike, although he still allowed his friends, the new group he formed, to call him "Leon". Except when conducting formal business.

The two stood in front of him and recited the vow that Jaydeen taught them.

"I pledge my loyalty to the god Leonike. I turn my back on immorality and selfishness, accept eternal life, and join the Guardians."

But they were not done...there was more.

"I will hunt those who hunt the weak. I will prey on those who prey on the fearful. I will be swift and merciless against those who harm the innocent, and I will not falter when a brother or sister is in my need. All this, I most solemnly and sincerely, swear upon my honor, that as long as I bear the mark of the Guardians, I will forever remain bound to my words now."

That was all that was needed. Leonike had his turn. He stood up and walked up to them.

"You oaths are accepted. Kneel," he commanded.

They did so.

"You will now receive our mark upon your breast."

Leonike then bent down and placed his hand upon the chest of the boy. He then placed his hand just above the left breast of the girl, upon their hearts. With each one, he focused just a little bit of power, and then withdrew, his task complete.

When he was done, the tattoo-like emblem of a wolf was upon them, covering their heart. It stood tall and proud, and it's head was flung back to deliver a powerful howl to the moon. Just like in the dreams Leon had all those months ago.

Leon welcomed them to his group and smiled. It was just another great night...

**And there you have it! This first chapter is complete. I hope you all have enjoyed the story and are happy with the way it went.**

** I feel I should say that I know a lot of you are disappointed with how it ended with Thalia. But that is how I imagined it from the beginning. Leon cared too much for her for her to possibly lose her immortality over him, and so he would not tell her...but his story is not over.**

** Enough of you asked for it, and I shall deliver it soon...**

** Son of a Hunter 2: Shattered Moonlight...**


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